The Magic Weaver
by Exinsh
Summary: On Harry's birthday the blood wards finally succumb to Harry's rage and magic, and following a violent incident they will set Harry on a path to become a true Mage. Secrets are revealed, the shroud dispersed, curses lifted, and epiphany achieved. New following is formed and not even Dumbledore's scheming or Voldemort's insanity will stop Harry from greatness. AU starting GoF.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So this my my new story that I've been planning for a while and finally have a chance to write up. Unfortunately, The Last Hokage of Piece is on a undefinite hiatus reason being... some drastic changes happened in my life and I no longer have the mindset nor any will to continue that particular story. The muse has left me so to speak. I sometimes come back to that story and write some sentences but I cannot say as to when the current chapter will be finished.**

 **About this story. The very first chapter is very short, yes, but I needed some kind of prologue to start things off. Future chapters will definitely be longer. Maybe not the same size as 'The last Hokage of Piece' but more frequent. Problem with extremely long chapters is that they are not updated very often. However, I will try not to make future chapters too short and will find a balance.**

 **This story is AU starting in the summer before GoF, very Powerful!Independent!Harry, Grey!borderlineDark!Harry. There is no pairing in this fanfic. It will have a definite plot and some politics are included too. At the beginning you will see a lot of cliches that, in my opinion, are unavoidable if you wish to write a fanfic of this kind. I hope you give me a chance and will enjoy it.**

 **Also, this fanfic's characters are obviously gonna be OOC compared to canon. Like, obviously.**

 **Full description: On Harry's 14th birthday the blood wards on Privet Drive finally succumb to Harry's rage and magic, and following a violent incident they will set Harry on a path to become a true Mage. Secrets are revealed, the shroud dispersed, curses lifted, and epiphany achieved. New following is formed and not even Dumbledore's scheming or Voldemort's insanity will stop Harry from greatness.**

 **Disclaimer: Of course I don't own anything associated with Harry Potter universe. It all belongs to JK Rowling.**

 **Update 10/07/2016: The chapter has been beta'ed.**

* * *

Chapter 1

Harry Potter was livid beyond belief - this was just plain ridiculous. Something snapped inside him and for once in his life he wasn't afraid to express his anger to Vernon who was equally enraged.

"FUCK OFF YOU PIECE OF FILTH!" Harry screamed in Vernon's face. They had already had an argument before, but this one sentence left him panting in rage and left a ringing in his ears. He had never felt so angry before, as if some kind of dam was broken and all the suppressed emotions were flooding him at once.

The reason for his rage? The Dursleys, of course. Since he had returned 'home' at the end of the third year the Dursleys had become even more sadistic, giving him even more chores than before, setting impossible time limits, and even resuming various punishments, like starving, denying water, even physical punishments like slaps and kicks, and occasional beating up. Harry hadn't received that kind of treatment since he got his Hogwarts letter and he was baffled as to what happened to change them so drastically.

But today was his 14th birthday and the Dursleys were extra vindictive and cruel. Since the early morning they had ordered Harry to prepare a full breakfast, clean and vacuum the entire house, weed and trim the garden, paint the garage and then prepare lunch. He was expected to be done by 1pm and of course he hadn't managed to finish everything considering he only had 5 hours. So he was severely punished and then given new chores and orders on top of those he hadn't finished.

Even when Harry threatened them with his 'escaped murderer godfather', he only received a hit and was told to get on with his chores. They believed Sirius Black being his godfather was 'loads of rubbish'.

For the whole day Harry endured but it was already evening and he still had loads of chores to finish and it hadn't stopped the Dursleys from abusing him. But Harry had had enough and he snapped.

"What did you say, freak?" Vernon dangerously asked in a near whisper as his face was turning more and more purple from all the anger. Vernon stood up from where he was sitting in the living room's couch and approached the bespectacled teen. Petunia was right behind him screaming bloody murder and how ungrateful Harry was and that he should be taught some manners.

Somehow in his rage, Harry managed to pull a smirk "I said to fuck off and do your own chores around the house, God knows you need some exercise, filth!"

It's the first time that he said what he really thought to these people and somehow it felt liberating.

"How dare you invoke the name of God, you freak of nature?! How dare you speak to me like that, your good gracious uncle who took you in from the goodness of his heart? Boy, after I'm done with you, you will wish you never opened your mouth today and obeyed like a little, worthless freak that you are!"

Vernon took a threatening step forward but before he could do anything, Harry brandished his wand that he was hiding in his overly large pants. He had a good mind to keep his wand with him at all times as Dursleys were afraid that he might do anything.

"You wouldn't like anything to happen, would you, uncle Vernon?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

Vernon stopped and looked at the wand that was pointed at him and, surprisingly, Harry was satisfied to see a flash of fear in the fat man's eyes. "You can't use... freakiness outside that school of yours, you will be expelled!"

"How many times have I heard it, hm? Wanna try me?"

And try Vernon did. With a speed seemingly impossible for such a fat man, Vernon was next to Harry in a heartbeat and hit the offending piece of wood and Harry's arm with such force that with a sickening crunch the wand flew out of the hand and smashed against the wall and broke in half.

Harry's wand was broken in half and he could hear Dudley cheering somewhere in the background.

Harry was too shocked to register the stinging in his hand from the hit and too shocked to notice the incoming punch into his face. His head exploded in pain. Harry staggered back and fell on the floor, screaming in pain as blood started to flow from his nose and busted lip.

He was in too much shock, sadness and pain to do anything. He never saw the incoming kick. But it never connected with him.

Just as Vernon swung his leg for a kick, Harry's blood dropped on the living room's floor. The fallen teen flashed red and a crimson barrier sprung around him just in time to intercept Vernon's feet. As the feet connected with it the barrier exploded into a powerful crimson shockwave aimed at Vernon that sent everything in its path -bookshelves, pictures, couches, carpet, as well as the three occupants of the room- flying. The Dursleys hit the wall and fell unconscious.

Harry barely registered what happened but he felt so drained - emotionally, physically, and magically. The only thing he could do was helplessly lay there and cry. Starvation did that to people.

A musical voice whispered into his ear "Sleep..." and that's what he did – he fell into a blissful and restful sleep, for once feeling safe, protected and most importantly, loved.


	2. Chapter 2

**So the chapters are getting longer! Also for future reference - my Latin is close to non existent so I'm using google translate. If you're Latin whiz kid and see that there's a problem, don't judge me too harshly for it.**

 **Also, thanks for all the follows and faves! Really keeps me going.**

 **Update 15/07/2016: The chapter has been beta'ed.**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 2

"...ak.. ..p... ry!"

Harry groggily pried his eyes open wincing at the bright sunlight that was seeping through the room's windows. Slightly confused as to why he was in the living room and on the floor no less, he uttered a very intelligent "Wha?" before noticing all the mess.

"Wake up, Harry!"

Harry finally looked up and yelped in shock. Sure, everything was more or less blurry because he lost his glasses but he still could see that there was some sort of floating, red apparition of humanoid shape in front of him. He frantically started looking for his glasses, hoping beyond hope that he didn't lose them or that they would not be broken. _Dammit! I wish I had normal eyesight! He cursed his hindrance._ Finally he found the glasses and put them on. Indeed, they were broken but they still improved his eyesight enough to see somewhat clearly.

Harry looked at the apparition and gasped. It was beautiful! Indeed, it resembled humanoid creature like he thought, a woman to be more precise, but it was made out of what seemed like crimson, liquid fire – the water like substance originated from the tips of its toes and flowed up through body, separating to make arms and fingers, and becoming more fire-like and more crimson the further it traveled from the toes. It even extended past the body contours creating wisps of flames and giving the impression that it was burning.

But what was it? How did it get here? Harry couldn't help but ask in wonder "What are you?"

Just as he asked there was a loud bang from the front doors, and a woman shouting "Petunia, dear? Vernon?"

"There is no time for idle chatter, child," the apparition spoke in the same musical voice that he had heard before falling unconscious. The voice made him feel safe, made him feel like he was home and loved and left him with unexplainable longing. "We must go. Quickly!"

"Go where?"

Harry heard some groans coming from the other side of the living room. He turned around to see what was it and, again, he gasped. The three Dursleys laying on the floor were beginning to stir. The memories of yesterday came rushing back to Harry and he felt like the rage he experienced yesterday was coming back. The magic within him responded to his emotion and was lashing out, sending nearby items flying or exploding.

The apparition's flames themselves got bigger and more intense, but it managed to stop Harry "Harry!" the boy snapped his attention back to the fiery thing and his rage was quickly receding "Control your magic! Hurry, ga-"

Another bang "Petunia! Please open or I will be forced to call the police!"

"Listen, Harry!" The apparition spoke again, the epitome of calmness despite how frantic the words themselves sounded, "Gather all the things that you need and we will go."

Harry gulped. He had no idea what was happening but he trusted the apparition. Why? He didn't know. "All the things I need are in the cupboard but it's-"

Apparition waved its hand and the cupboard door's flew open.

"-locked. Right." He quickly grabbed his school trunk and carried it to the living room. He suddenly stopped and bolted upstairs, back to his room. "Hedwig!" He had almost forgotten about his most loyal friend. Harry unlocked the cage and let the owl out "Girl, go and find me wherever I'm gonna end up, okay?"

Hedwig hooted, affectionately pecking his finger and flew out of the window. It seems it didn't go unnoticed as a voice, this time belonging to a male, said "Look, an owl from that boy's window! Call the police, I will try to force the door open." Harry sneaked a quick look out of the window and saw that there were actually quite a few people outside. _They must've heard yesterday's noise._

Harry quickly ran back to the living room and saw that the Dursleys were already opening their eyes and started moving from all the commotion while at the same time moaning in pain.

"What now?" Harry asked the apparition.

"Hold your school trunk and think of somewhere safe where we could go. Somewhere where you won't be disturbed. Think only of that place and I will take you there."

Safe place? Hogwarts was the safest place he knew of but... There are going to be a lot of questions asked if he just appeared there. And he would most probably be sent back here which will result in him being in deep trouble. He didn't know any other safe places. Panic started to seep into him but before it managed to blow out of proportions he remember about Diagon Alley, or more precisely the Leaky Cauldron.

He quickly nodded to the apparition and concentrated solely on Leaky Cauldron's muggle entrance as it was something he remembered the most.

"Boy!" Vernon meekly shouted as he tried to get up. Harry saw that there was a big lump at the back of his head with some dried blood but before Harry could see more, or respond, he saw the apparition explode in a fiery burst.

Harry closed his eyes and the next time he opened them he saw that he was tightly surrounded with dark, crimson fire tornado coupled with the feeling that he was floating in midair, similarly as how he felt when he was on his broom. It was so close to him that the fire was almost touching his skin but it wasn't hot and wasn't burning. Again, he was overwhelmed by the whole feeling of protectiveness. Before he could relish the feeling the fire quickly dispersed and disappeared in thin air, and with it went the feeling of floating. It was so sudden and unexpected that Harry stumbled but managed to stay on his feet.

He quickly looked around and saw that no one had seen him or the fire. Actually, he landed right in front of Leaky Cauldron entrance. But where was that apparition thing?

Shaking his head he went in. It was early morning and so the pub was more or less empty apart from some early risers. He went to the bar where Tom the bartender was tending to some dishes. He needed to rent a room or something, like last year. After all, he didn't have anywhere else to stay at.

"Excuse me?" he quietly addressed the bartender as not to distract other occupants in the room.

Tom looked down at the boy and the first thing he noticed, of course, was the scar "Harry P-"

"Please, sir, keep it down! I don't need extra attention," Harry irritably snapped.

"Of course, of course, Harry. And please, call me Tom," he whispered and continued after Harry's nod "What can I do for you this early?"

"I would like to rent a room. I think until September."

"Of course, Harry!" after a small pause, Tom found the key he was looking for and handed it to Harry "Room 213 on the third floor is yours. Should I inform someone that you're here?"

Harry shook his head "No. I would prefer if my current location was a secret," seeing the look on Tom's face he continued "I, uh, am planning a surprise for Dumbledore and the Weasleys for everything they've done for me but I need magic for that. And I couldn't use magic where I was staying because of the muggles. My relatives know I am here." A very believable lie considering that a lot of people knew that Harry was in Dumbledore's good graces and had seen him a lot around Weasleys. "I can do magic here, right?"

Tom nodded in understanding "I won't spoil the surprise then. And yes, you are allowed to cast magic here without the fear of punishments from the ministry. This is a magic establishment so it won't trigger any warning." Before Harry could go Tom took out his wand and pointed it at Harry's head. Seeing the boy's panicked eyes he quickly said "Don't worry, Harry, let me fix your glasses. _Oculus reparo!_ There you go."

Harry took off his glasses and examined them. They were like new and he couldn't help but flash the bartender a genuine smile as he accepted the keys "Thank you, Tom."

As he made his way to his room Harry got very sad over the fact that he wouldn't actually be able to cast any magic because his wand was broken and he forgot to take what remained of it with him. That wand was very dear to him but knowing Dursleys he probably would never see it again. And he couldn't even fix his glasses. He will need to visit Ollivander's wand shop some time soon.

He finally got to his room and examined it. The room was quite plain – a chair, a desk, wardrobe, two poster beds, and a bedside table. There was also a door that Harry assumed led to the bathroom. Harry put his trunk near the wardrobe and was about to take another nap on the bed but a flash of fire stopped him in his tracks. There was that fiery being again.

After a minute of silence and looking at each other Harry finally asked "Who are you?"

It seemed as if the apparition was mulling the question as there was another moment of silence before it finally answered "You may call me Lily."

"Lily?" Harry asked in wonder and them before he could stop himself he asked another question full of hope "Lily as in my mother? Are you her ghost or spirit of sorts?" That feeling of love and protectiveness, and the fact that he trusted it so much must be because it was his mother's spirit, right? And if it indeed was then why now and not earlier? He almost started crying of joy because he finally will be able to speak to his mother.

But his hopes were quickly crushed "No. I am not your mother."

"Oh," was the only thing Harry managed to utter as he was crushed with disappointment.

"It was the name magic -your magic- gave me," the apparition continued.

"My magic?"

"I am your blood ward. The ward that surrounded Privet Drive."

Harry couldn't help but stare in shock "What? How is that possible?" Apparently everything is possible with magic but some things still made him shocked.

"I am bound to you. I am your magic. Your emotions. Intent and faith is the main requirement to cast magic and I am what your magic wanted me to be. So I became Lily. I do not have enough strength to explain everything to you. I was never meant to be sentient and I am running on borrowed time and magic. Your magic."

Harry stared dumbly at Lily and couldn't comprehend what was happening or what Lily was saying. His reasoning and thinking was heavily clouded with some sort of mist that he couldn't disperse. Suddenly he felt some sort of pressure on his head and his field of vision automatically focused on Lily, it was the only thing he could see.

"Listen closely. I was busy while you slept. Go to goblins, ask for Bladenail. Ask for the release and cleansing. He will explain more than I did, I left some information with him. Emancipation. You have no magical guardian. Seek out Ollivander, he will be your biggest ally. Magicae texente tela legatum renascitur. He will understand. You don't know how great you can be. Remember. Magic is all around. Faith and intent. Belief. Remember."

And with the final word there was a bright flash and Lily transformed into several bright, crimson tendrils that rushed towards Harry in blinding speed and entered his body. Harry screamed in pain as all his veins were illuminated as if burning from inside.

He passed out from the pain and exhaustion long before whatever was happening to him was done.

He lay there again, on the floor, in a blissful sleep not noticing the magic within him changing. The only evidence that something happened was a bright, burning tattoo on his right palm.

A tattoo of a lily.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! Sorry for such a long update, I was on vacation in Tenerife! I miss that place now.**

 **As for this chapter, and possibly next - it's basically information giving chapter where some things are explained so not a lot of action. However, some things have not been answered on purpose. Also, it's twice as big as previous chapter! And I plan and hope that next chapter is gonna be twice as big as this chapter :D I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

 _The Magic Weaver_

 _Chapter 3_

"Hello," Harry politely said to a goblin teller "Would it be possible to speak with Bladenail?"

The goblin regarded Harry with unconcealed curiosity and dislike – there are only two reasons why someone would ask for Bladenail and he wondered which one it is. This human better not waste his time, he sneered "Do you have an appointment with him?"

"I think so?" Harry honestly replied. He only knew that Lily -whatever it was- told him to see Bladenail but he didn't know if he had an actual appointment already set up "I don't know."

Foolish humans, the teller rolled his eyes in annoyance, can't keep track of their own arrangements. "Name?"

"Harry Potter, sir."

The goblin raised an eyebrow at the honorific but didn't say anything. He merely hopped off his chair and disappeared in the door behind him leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

Harry on the other hand was getting a bit annoyed. Couldn't the goblin just take him with him straight away and if it turns out he didn't have appointment then just walk his back? He absent-mindedly scratched his right palm but then stopped and stared at the glowing tattoo of lily. Everything was so bizarre, especially after yesterday's events.

Harry haven't seen Lily since she 'exploded' yesterday, but he couldn't complain seeing as he had another blissful sleep. He felt so refreshed and rested. The only downside was that he constantly felt a funny tingling sensation originating from his really itching tattoo and spreading all across his body which made him uncomfortable most of the time. And his scar was hurting as well for a reason he didn't know. He was quite sure that Voldemort wasn't hiding around some corner and stalking him. He snorted at the idea.

He sighed as he waited for the teller to come back. Hopefully this Bladenail will explain what was happening to him, he really hated not knowing things that directly concerned him. Like withholding information that Sirius was his godfather.

After some minutes of waiting the teller finally came back. "Bladenail was indeed waiting for your arrival, Mr. Potter. But before we proceed I need to make sure you are who you say you are. It's Gringott's safety procedure. Please, give me your vault key."

It made sense, Harry thought, that they would have some safety measures to know the true identity of the speaker seeing as wizards and witched had access to glamour charms and Polyjuice potions, if one can brew it.

"I don't have it, sir."

The teller sneered, it must be an imposter if he didn't have the vault key he asked for "And pray tell me why you don't have your vault key?"

"I honestly don't know. As far as I am aware, Albus Dumbledore has it."

"And why does he have your vault key?" the teller pressed.

Now that was a good question. Why did he? It was Harry's vault after all, and not Dumbledore's. "I don't know," Harry felt like an idiot, repeating same 'I don't know' over and over again. He hated not knowing things. "I think because he is my magical guardian?"

"Magical guardian or not, key to the vault should always be on the owner. Very well then. Your wand, please."

Harry dropped his head and murmured "Broken."

The goblin sneered, this wizard managed to break his own wand and now is walking around defenceless? "Pitiful. Give me your hand then, I will check your identity with blood."

Harry obediently gave his right hand to the goblin, completely missing the look of utter shock when goblin saw the tattoo that adorned his palm. He felt something prick his finger and looked up just to see three drops of blood drop into an intricate looking bowl. The goblin released his hand and the wound quickly sealed up.

The bowl filled up with red liquid which glowed crimson for a second but then turned into green mist that dispersed into the air like smoke. The goblin nodded "Everything seems to be in order, Mr Potter. Please follow me."

They entered same door that the teller left earlier and walked across a wide hall which was decorated with intricate pillars and various paintings on the walls. Harry noticed that all of the paintings portrayed some sort battle.

After some minutes of silent walking they finally reached quite plain double doors which automatically swung open when the pair came near it. The doors revealed another quite plain looking office with some paintings, weapons on the walls, bookshelves, and what looked like a very expensive table in the middle of it, decorated with red carvings that resembled some kind of vine. The whole room was illuminated by a tremendous window at the back of the room that spanned almost the entire wall.

Behind the desk sat an ancient looking goblin and his most striking feature was long, silky black hair that cascaded in waves and elegantly reached his shoulders. Harry couldn't help but stare at it – all the goblins he met so far have been bald, or had short, disheveled, grey hair.

Bladenail's voice brought him back to the reality "Thank you, Sharptooth. You may return to your duties." The teller who now identifies as Sharptooth, did a deep bow and left the room. "Please, Mr Potter, take a seat." noticing where Harry was looking when he entered Bladenail softly chuckled and said when Harry sat down "You must be curious about my hair, I assume?"

Harry blushed in the embarrassment at being caught staring, but nodded nevertheless. Bladenail continued "How much do you know of goblins and their ageing process?"

"Nothing, sir." Harry honestly replied and it was another thing on the list of "The Things Harry Doesn't Know".

"Understandable," Bladenail nodded "It's not public knowledge, but then again most wizards are ignorant of other species. I am called an Ancient Goblin because of my age - I'm several thousands years old. There are only several others like me since it's hard to survive in harsh and competitive goblin and wizard environment for so long. I wouldn't go into detail right now, since that is not the point of the meeting, but I'll say that when goblin gets near their Ancient Age then their hair gets, ah, more silky and shiny features, sometimes even change colour."

Harry nodded and stored the new information somewhere at the back of his mind. He will research it later on if he won't forget it. And he usually did.

"So lets get down to business. Time is money, after all," Bladenail said as he shuffled some papers "Tell me, do you know why you are here?"

Harry shook his head "Not really. Lily told me I should ask for you, that she left some more information to give me. She asked me to ask you for something called "release and cleansing" as well as emancipation," he took a breath trying to control his burning emotions. He felt so confused and a bit angry for not knowing what was happening and he didn't want to blow out the steam, so to speak, to the only person who might hold the answers. Sure, he could ask Dumbledore but he didn't trust him as much as he did before. Especially since he did nothing to help Sirius. "Please, sir, do you know what it is? Please tell me what you know."

"Please, just call me Bladenail. 'Sir' makes it sound like I'm old," Bladenail said but he saw that the joke was missed on Harry. He silently regarded the young man in front of him and finally spoke "Tell me, Mr Potter, what do you know of blood wards?"

Again "Nothing."

The wise goblin nodded "I see," another moment of silence before he spoke "Say, Mr Potter, do you know anything of the blood ward that was on Privet Drive?"

This time Harry nodded "Yes, Dumbledore spoke of it once. It's a blood ward made from my mother's sacrifice. It protects me and Dursleys from," here he paused. Dumbledore never said why he needed the protection and he never asked. "I don't know from what, to be honest. I also know that I had to go there every summer to renew the protection. All of that according to Dumbeldore, anyway."

Bladenail nodded "I see. Blood magic is a fickle thing and one must thread carefully when using it. The Blood Ward that you described," Bladenail paused and regarded Harry with curious if not awed gaze "became sentient. It was feeding off your emotions and magic and gave life to itself, as I understand it. _"_

Harry dumbly stared at Bladenail "Feeding off my emotions and magic? Why? How?"

"The blood ward was cast by one Albus Dumbledore shortly after You-Know-Who was defeated and before placing you in Dursley's care. Your blood and your mother's death was used as a sacrifice catalyst even though nothing was actually sacrificed by Dumbledore's hand in terms of taking a life. Rather, the thought and belief of Lily's sacrifice is what allowed the ward to be made, and your blood helped the ward to be keyed to you and around you," Bladenail slowly explained "Because the thought and belief of your mother's sacrifice was used during the ritual, and because the ward that was used was defensive in nature, the resulting blood ward was meant to protect everyone inside the ward from evil as long as you felt loved and would call that place home. On top of that Dumbledore put his own charms on top of the ward to influence you or what happens inside."

"Influence?" Harry began to feel dread filling him up after hearing those words.

Bladenail nodded "Yes, we will get to that eventually. Let me finish about this blood ward first," he said "Each ward needs a power resource to sustain. The usual power source for wards are runes and surrounding, ambient magic. There are exceptions, of course, but in this case the resource was love. And Dumbledore didn't know that. It might sound silly but the magic that Lily evoked that night... was ancient and powerful. Spells can be powered by emotion and it so happens that the result of Lily's sacrifice made this ward to operate on love. However, as the sentient blood ward told me, you didn't feel any love while living there. Only anger, sadness, pain, and hate. You said yourself that that place isn't home when you were 4, and then later on you said yourself that Hogwarts is your real home. You also said that you are not wanted nor loved at Privet Drive. It was said and thought with such conviction and belief that the ward recognised it and automatically the ward became null and void, it lost the resource to sustain itself.

But because Dumbledore mixed many charms with the blood ward and used your blood as secondary catalyst and keyed them to you and to the Nr 4 Privet Drive, the blood ward couldn't just dissipate since you were still alive and the ward still had functional properties. So the ward did the only thing it could do – it latched to the only big magical source under its effect, namely you, and changed its purpose. The fact that it was made from your blood only helped to intensify the ward's new purposes which was to keep you alive, help you survive, and help you remain sane under that hell-hole.

But the price for it was that it was feeding off your magic and emotions. Even when you were at Hogwarts."

"What..."

Bladenail patiently continued "Have you ever noticed sudden exhaustion?" Nod. "Have you wondered why you can't do practical spells just as good as others, especially knowing you're half-blood?" Hesitant nod. "Have you noticed lack of concentration, sudden impulsiveness?" Nod. "The fact that you couldn't retain knowledge, had troubles with school work?" Nod. "And that you had difficulties controlling your magic, drawing it forth?" Another nod. "The fact that you just agreed to most things and seemed meek at times?" Harry really didn't want to admit 'meekness' but it was true so he just nodded again. "It's all the result of you being the blood ward's magic source."

"But," Harry paused as if unsure "Hogwarts is so far away? And how did you know about all those things?"

Bladenail nodded "Yes, but the ward couldn't just dissipate because your blood was used to cast it, and you were still alive. And it drained even more magic, and required even more emotional strain the further away you were from Surrey. And I know what to ask because unconscious magic drainage as well as magical and emotional exhaustion and their side effects is common medical knowledge."

"I see. And what would've happened if I went to a different country?"

"You would've died from magical exhaustion the moment you'd get too far away, and I am still in awe of how you survived for so long," Bladenail honestly answered and Harry paled at that thought. As shitty as his life was, he didn't want to die. "And to answer your main question as to how it became sentient enough to materialise like it did. Two days ago when one Vernon Dursley raised hand at you, the blood ward felt your immense fear and desire to be protected, and recognised Vernon's uncontrollable rage and hate. The ward, already somewhat sentient, realized that it wouldn't be able to save and heal you like it always did. You would've died that night by that filthy muggle's hand," here the goblin's voice became a bit harsh knowing from the sentient ward what Vernon did to Harry. He calmed down a bit and continued "So the ward took a large amount of magic from you and finally materialised into the living world and it was no longer a ward or spell. No, it became a living entity which lived on all the magic you willingly gave. That ward, no matter how it came to be, was pure representation and incarnation of Mother Magic. Whole Gringotts could feel it when it visited."

Harry was dumbstruck from what he learnt. But he didn't realise yet the sheer magnitude of what happened or what could it mean for him and the wizarding world.

The young man quickly caught up on one word "Willingly? I don't remember allowing... this magic taking thing."

Bladenail softly chuckled again "I asked the same question. Yes, Mr Potter, willingly. Every time it healed you, you said thank you. Every time it helped you survive you dreamt and thought and hoped it was your mother. Every time it saved you from Death's cold embrace in childhood, you wished that it would do so again, so yes. Willingly."

It was a lot to take in for poor Harry. A magic blood ward that failed to sustain itself from its primary energy source due to Dursley treatment of Harry, which then used Harry as willing magic source to keep itself operating. Bizarre, but then again this was magic and there was a lot of things he didn't know about magic.

"Okay," it was definitely not okay and Harry needed time to think of all the implications of this, so he left the whole 'dying' part to a later time when he will be ready to deal with it "Okay. Um, you mentioned that Dumbledore cast his own charms to influence something?"

Bladenail scoffed and sneered "Yes, Mr Potter. That man cast several charms that were keyed to the blood ward and that also fed off blood ward's energy source. Charms that increased emotions felt several times meaning that anger would turn to rage, dislike to hate, love to obsession, and so on. Some mail redirecting charms, also charms that, while under the ward, prolong any active enchantments and spells, and I will elaborate about this in a moment. Several monitoring charms-"

Harry suddenly interrupted feeling dread filling him up from inside "Monitoring charms?! You mean Dumbledore knew what was happening to me? My treatment?"

Ignoring the fact that he was interrupted, which was understandable, the goblin replied with a simple "Yes, Mr Potter."

The dread Harry felt suddenly turned into feeling of betrayal, and then into immense anger "He knew! He knew and he lied to my face? Saying that I am over exaggerating? Telling me that I need to return to renew the wards? And the fact it was all his fault that Dursleys hated me so much because of heightened emotion ward?! I... I..." He was at the loss of words "You can't imagine what I want to do to that man right now!"

"Indeed. Children in wizarding society, especially creatures, purebloods and half-bloods are very precious since Mother Magic herself blessed them with her power, even though majority of magical population scorns creatures due to ignorance and fear. To think that a wizard was partially responsible for your horrible childhood is inconceivable," Harry said nothing, silently fuming and listening to Bladenail so the ancient goblin continued "The last charms were magic blocking charm, which power was amplified by the blood ward, and magic redirecting charm."

"Magic blocking charm? It can't be true, I still had accidental magic."

"Do not mistake magic blocking curse with magic blocking protection charm woven into defensive ward," goblin explained "This charm didn't allow any magic to pass the ward's barrier either way though it was a bit weaker from the inside. What it means is that magic couldn't go in, and some little magic couldn't go out."

"So I was able to cast spells and defend myself and no one would've known?" Harry asked and felt another wave of anger approaching as he unconsciously started leaking off magic making the air thick with tension.

Goblin was amazed at how potent the magic was he could almost see and touch it, Harry was powerful he thought. Not wanting things to start exploding he quickly said "Not quite, Mr Potter," seeing that the young man relaxed enough at these words to listen, the goblin continued "The only thing that wouldn't have passed the ward is your accidental magic; however magic that you would have consciously cast with your wand would have been redirected to somewhere else, presumably alerting Dumbledore and not the ministry. Also, all the tracking charms couldn't find you because of the ward. Haven't you ever wondered how Boy-Who-Lived never got found?" Harry was actually dumbstruck at this because he actually asked that question many times since he was 11 and now he knew the reason "Many people tried many kinds of tracking charms and even rituals to find their hero. But they always ended up empty handed."

Harry nodded. Finally he somewhat understood what was happening with all this blood ward thing even though he was sure there was more to it than just 'manifesting at the face of the danger', and finally he knew who to truly blame for his childhood. If not for that emotion amplifying ward then he would've had an easier childhood. He was thankful the blood ward protected him from it.

"Okay, it's a lot to take in but I think I understand it. But why that spell prolonging charm?" Harry asked.

"I'm glad you asked," goblin chuckled even if there was nothing funny about it "The only one who had some kind of spell applied to them was you."

"Me? What spell? Don't tell me it was some kind of mind influencing, loyalty forcing spell," Harry sarcastically said and the muttered "Not that it would be surprising, I've been following Dumbledore and listening to his every word without questioning him."

The goblin chuckled again "Nothing of the sorts, Mr Potter. While mind influencing spells exist, loyalty forcing doesn't because fake loyalty cannot be artificially created, magic or no magic," the goblin explained. While Bladenail really hated explaining things to humans (thankfully these days he almost never interacted with them), he didn't mind explaining things to Mr Potter. It was such a unique and interesting case, and Mr Potter was so polite and... very special, he thought. Bladenail continued "We, that is me and the blood ward, theorized that the spell was put to prolong your magic block since it was the only active and ongoing spell under the ward."

"Magic block? Don't tell me Dumbledore sabotaged my magic!" Harry incredulously said, feeling the rage building up again. At this moment, the magic was the most dearest thing to him and he would never want to lose it.

"Oh no, it wasn't Dumbledore. Your parents," seeing Harry's unbelievable expression he quickly elaborated before Harry could assume the worst "It was children's magic block. It is put by parents on young children, usually toddlers, who demonstrate the potential of high or potent magic amounts by performing accidental magic very early on. This block is put there for their safety and it also helps the child to unconsciously control the accidental magic they do as long as they are consciously aware of their magic 'bubbling' from inside as response to some emotion. Rather it's not the magic that 'bubbles' but the magic block under the strain of unconscious emotion driven magic trying to break out."

Harry recalled the summer before his third year when Marge visited. He remembers being so utterly angry at what Marge was sprouting about his parents, he felt the rage 'bubble' inside him and he remembers how he directed all that rage towards Marge. So it wasn't his rage bubbling, but rather his magic trying to get free from behind the magic block and he managed to control it so no random thing would explode.

"However," the ancient goblin continued explaining "It can be a hindrance when the child consciously starts casting spells since the block would be in the way of controlling and developing the magic. The block is usually removed by the parent by their 11th birthday, when the child would get the wand, or by Medi-witch/wizard of the school the child is attending. There is a start of term check up of all first years."

"So Dumbledore in fact was sabotaging my magic?" Harry concluded "And Madam Pomfrey never said I had a block. In fact, I never had this check up."

"Yes, in a way he was sabotaging your magical development, however nor the blood ward or I know the reasons. And it very odd that you didn't. But even so, such magical block would deteriorate as time goes on and the child performs more magic. The fact that Hogwart's Headmaster put spell prolonging charm means he knew of your block and did that deliberately."

"I see," Harry nodded "Is that block still on me then?"

"Let me see," Goblin said.

Bladenail waved hand and intently focused his dark green eyes on Harry, and Harry saw as goblin's pupil disappeared, being completely absorbed by the green iris which started to glow and shine. Harry felt as if something foreign passed his whole body, examined him, making him actually blush.

After a minute of silence Bladenail's eyes returned to normal and you could see him visibly relax "Well that was challenging and interesting to say the least."

"Challenging? What exactly did you do?" Harry inquired.

"I used goblin medical scan spell and I had difficulties checking your magic," he explained "But your magical block is still there but it has a big hole in it. It allows more magic through but still restricts to let more out. Imagine a huge wall restricting and stopping a river or lake from joining the ocean. Small hole would allow a small trickle through while the rest is still blocked by the wall."

"I understand," Harry nodded "Can you remove the block?"

Finally Bladenail grinned "Why, Mr Potter, that's part of 'release and cleansing' that will be performed shortly. The process will remove any magically created blocks or ongoing potions if any; it will find, identify and destroy any curses on you; it will identify any injury or illness, and if able then will magically heal and rectify the damage done to your body. The process will also unbound any currently accumulated ambient magic and will help it to integrate into your system. And lastly, while you will recover in the ritual circle it will also let us know about any vaults and families you're eligible to. But before we proceed with that, I have a question. Have you ever received any Gringotts mail?"

Harry shook his head.

"I see," Bladenail wrote something on a piece of parchment and then with a finger snap it was gone in a puff of magic "It must have been mail redirecting ward then. Since you're last living Potter, you are eligible to some things and Gringotts tried to sent you mail but it was redirected. Where? I do not know but take your guess," aka Dumbledore since he was the one who cast the spell. The goblin continued "I explained and asked Potter account manager to sent you a letter again after the blood ward visited and knowing that you won't be at Privet Drive but it seems Arrowdent sent it to Nr 4 Privet Drive again, instead of directly to you," the goblin angrily muttered "Seems he doesn't care about last Potter line that much. That's bad business considering what family line it is," he looked up at Harry again "Any questions before we proceed with the release and cleansing?"

Ignoring this thing about Potter account manager for now, Harry asked the only thing he had on his mind when he heard about this ritual "Do many people do this ritual?"

The ancient goblin smirked that looked more like bloodthirsty grin despite the soft features of the ancient "No. Only 2 people performed this in last one and a half century, one of them dying in the process, you being the third. Reason being that it's extremely expensive and I am the only one who is able to conduct such ritual due to my age, magic and occupation. Also, the only way of learning of this ritual is only by getting recommendation of someone who knows me, and then again it can only been given if recipient is in dire need of it. You were recommended by Mother Magic itself and because its such unique case it will be conducted free of charge," this time Bladenail gave a full out grin showing full rows of sharp, white teeth as he stood up "Now then, Mr Potter. Are you ready to proceed to our next agenda?"

Harry gulped and nodded.

He knew he needed it, despite this 'died in the process'.

He just didn't know how much.

Or the unexpected results it will bear.

Either way this is a definite turning point of his life.

This nod is what set him free of all the shackles.

Nod, that will change the wizarding world.


	4. Chapter 4

**While not as big as I hoped it's gonna be, I hope it's still interesting.**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 4

After what felt like hours of walking through Gringotts corridors which felt more like a maze (Harry's feet started to hurt!) they finally arrived at what seemed like dead end. Bladenail muttered something under his breath in a language Harry didn't know and the wall in front of him, which was the most ordinary wall he's ever seen in Gringotts, shimmered before returning to normal.

"We are finally here," Bladenail said "After you, Mr Potter." After receiving quite a dumb look from Harry, the goblin quite impressively rolled his eyes and went into the wall. And disappeared behind it.

Understanding dawned on him and Harry quickly followed Bladenail behind the wall feeling as magic passed him. On the other side was a small, plain looking room made completely out of stone and illuminated by floating candle lights.

"This wall," Harry incredulously said "Is just like on the platform 9 and three quarters?"

"Who do you think put it there?" Goblin replied as he filled out some papers.

Another goblin, this one smaller than Bladenail, entered the stone room through the wall opposite from where Harry and Bladenail entered. Seems like this small room was connected to the corridor and other room via invisible wall passages, Harry mused. They quickly discusses something in what Harry assumed was Gobbledegook. Bladenail handed over the papers to the new goblin which then disappeared behind the wall he came from.

"Right, Mr Potter," Bladenail started "Get naked."

Harry stared at Bladenail. Bladenail stared at Harry. It was silent and awkward to say the least.

"Well?" Bladenail hurrier Harry, getting a bit more annoyed by the second. Seeing that Harry wasn't moving and his blank face expression, and guessing why, he explained "Release and cleansing is a ritual that involves a lot of complicated goblin magic and runes. Clothes is a material thing and not part of you and that can influence the ritual and runes. We don't need any complications, do we? Come to think of it, the last person who did this had an earring he didn't want to remove. And he ended up dead."

Hearing that Harry quickly started to undress. While it was a bit unnerving to undress in front of a goblin he wasn't particularly shy about it, seeing as he was sharing and undressing in front of other people while at Hogwarts for three years now.

Standing there stark naked, covering his private parts, and blushing, he looked at Bladenail. Said goblin just nodded and said "Everything seems to be in order. Follow me."

And so the odd pair of goblin and naked human entered another room through another wall.

On the other side there was another cube like stone room. But it was huge! Four, if not five times bigger than the previous room where he left his clothes. Harry noticed that it also was lit by floating candles, though the lighting was really dim that he could barely see the other side of the room. The most prominent thing, however, was massive runic circle drawn in what seemed like chalk. Harry was quite sure it wasn't chalk though. It's wizarding world after all, probably some kind of powdered dragon teeth or something. It started in the middle of the room with a circle, which Harry assumed he will need to stand in, and then expanded outwards with intricate, vine like lines that made another circles, and squares within circles, that were adorned with runes and words and sentences in a language Harry couldn't even begin to read and understand. The lines then formed another 7 empty circles equal distance away from each other with the seventh being the biggest.

Six smaller circles were already occupied by goblins dressed in ancient looking, black robes adorned with various trinkets like leafs and bones. They were also holding some kind of twisted, odd looking twigs which looked to be in the same size as the goblins themselves. The whole black cloak thing gave Harry the feeling of some cult and he actually started to have second thoughts about this whole procedure.

The lines didn't stop there – they expanded further away from the circles, making various geometrical figures as they climbed the wall and ceiling. The ceiling's runic circle was a copy of the one on the ground. All in all this whole room just felt so... ancient. And Harry could feel the magic in the air making his hair stand up. He could almost taste the raw power that has been channelled there.

Bladenail produced another odd looking twig (that Harry will later learn is called a staff) and stood in the larger circle and calmly addressed Harry "Now, Mr Potter, please stand in the middle of the runic circle. Yes, there. Thank you. Now before we begin, any questions?" Bladenail asked as he also donned a black robe that was handed to him.

Harry gulped and asked "Is there something I will need to do?"

Bladenail couldn't help but grin "Not at all, Mr Potter. Although..." here he regarded Harry for a second before continuing "Please try to relax. And when we will start chanting try to not restrict your magic, let it flow. In order for this ritual to be successful we need to work with your magic in tandem and that can be difficult if you resist and try to control your magic. Let it go wild, Mr Potter," seeing Harry's uncertain nod he said "Now if that is all, please relax and try to calm down. We will begin as soon as you are ready."

After some moments of trying to calm himself Harry finally said "Ready."

As soon as the last syllable left Harry's mouth, all the goblins slammed their small staffs as one into the stone ground. And then they did so again, and again, making a slow and steady rhythm. To Harry each slam seemed louder and louder, and the louder it got the more he felt some kind of pressure on him. He also noticed that all the magic in the air started to move, for the lack of better words. Before it was just there, saturated and unmoving. Now, it felt like the magic had purpose and in started to whirl around the room also in rhythm with staff slamming. Harry noticed that magic became even thicker and made goblin robes to flutter like in the wind, even though there was no breeze.

Harry felt a trickle of sweat roll down his forehead and cheek as the pressure on him increased – he barely managed to stand up. He felt his magic react, trying to get out and he remembered what Bladenail said. Relax and let the magic go wild. And so Harry, closed his eyes and relaxed as much as he could, and remembering how the magic reacted when he cast spells, he guideded his magic out to the best to his abilities. He opened the pathways for the magic to flow.

As he did so Harry began to glow emerald green, with whisps of green escaping him and joining the swirling magic around. The pressure got so big that Harry collapsed on his knees and was heavily breathing. There were almost no coherent thoughts in his mind, only magic that he willed and allowed to go freely. Harry truly never knew what kind of tremendous control over his magic own magic he had.

As the air was almost saturated in Harry's green magic, mixing together with ancient magic of the room, goblins suddenly stopped slamming their staffs and readjusted them to a different position. They now held horizontally in one hand on their chest level while the other hand was risen above head, palm facing upwards. There were several seconds of silence in the room and only Harry's breathing and swirling magic in the air could be heard.

Then as one, the goblins slammed their tiny staffs on the floor, creating little sparks, and started to slowly chant in an ancient and almost forgotten goblin language. Their free hand started to make circular motion above their heads and the magic responded to that - it started to pulsate and spin around Harry making a vortex of magic streaked in green above him. Goblin chanting became faster and more rigid and they started to slam their staffs into the ground again in a slow rhythm. The vortex now was a blur – greenish distortion in the air.

The magic there was so potent and in incredible amount, and it was spinning so fast that it created a gravitational distortion making Harry float up right into the eye of the vortex. As he did so, goblins quickly swiped their free hand downwards, grabbed staff by both hands, made a twirling motion and slammed it into the ground again while keeping chanting. The magic vortex responded to that and now formed a perfect, spinning sphere with Harry in the middle.

Another moment of silence, and then with a wave of their hands the sphere of magic equally split in the middle and got equally absorbed by ceiling and ground runic circles. The runic lines started to glow in greenish light that quickly spread from the middle and outwards, leaving out the seven smaller circles where the goblins were standing. The ceiling and ground runic lines met midway on the wall and as the last line connected there was a flash of green and blue, after which the runic circle seemed to burn in dark cerulean light, while the candles that were illuminating the room flared up and now gave a green light, making the shadows to cascade even further and making the atmosphere even more magic heavy and creepy.

The goblins quickly kneeled and put their free hand on the floor, resumed chanting in double speed, and started to quickly tap their staff as one. Their chanting almost sounded as unified singing. And despite what most would think about goblins, the singing actually sounded almost beautiful and just so... magical.

The now cerulean runic circle started to peel off from the material surface, leaving a trace of green runic circle behind, and closed around Harry making a huge sphere made of lines and geometrical symbols with the young man in the middle of it. The goblins slightly changed the rhythmic pattern of slamming staffs and the sphere responded – it started to pour as much magic into Harry as possible, while at the same time taking away equal amount and purifying it and cleaning, and then sending it in again. And so the equal exchange continued for a while.

Sometimes bones breaking and mending as well as a cry of pain could be heard through the staff tapping and goblin singing and thankfully Harry was long since fallen unconscious and didn't feel any pain at all.

But then the unexpected happened – the lily on Harry's hand pulsated bright crimson, and the trace of runic circle that was left on the surface turned crimson as well and started to rapidly peel off from the walls, floor and ceiling and mixing up with the runic sphere in the air. The goblins looked shocked for a second and they changed their song into a defensive one, not realising what is happening is not under their control any more.

The runic sphere now transformed into a solid ball of red, green and blue magic that twisted and swirled like liquid. It pulsed seven times and then expanded into tremendous ball, almost touching the goblins who were vigorously chanting before transforming into a very thick mist and rushing into Harry.

As the last whisp was absorbed by Harry, he screamed while still unconscious and then all that was human of him was stripped. His material body – flesh, blood, bones, organs and all that, just disappeared and he was truly strippen bare. The only thing that could be seen was a white humanoid apparition, just like the blood ward that visited Gringotts some days ago. The only thing that could be seen was Harry's soul held together by pure magic.

This Harry had a huge, black taint on his forehead that very slowly spread downwards almost like a drop of black ink spilled into a pure white paper. Harry's tattoo of lily was also there and glowing bright crimson that was so contrasting to Harry's white form.

The goblins stared at it in undiluted awe and then they heard a faint whisper in their minds, so faint it could almost be missed and yet they knew what it was. Mother Magic guided them. They also felt that Harry was not lost. He was still there. The goblins renewed their chanting with new vigour, following the whisper's guidance and adjusted it to healing chanting, and slammed their staffs into the floor quite heavily making a streak of magic to leave their staffs and join in the middle of the room where it then travelled upwards and turned green, before separating again and encompassing Harry in a spherical cage.

And so the goblins continued to chant and look at what was happening in utter shock and wonder. In their opinion, this was a magical wonder and miracle.

The lily on Harry's hand pulsated and then burst out in waves of crimson flames that quickly formed the same apparition, same blood ward that visited the goblins, that was silently floating next to Harry. It screamed some unintelligible words before, again, exploding into solid, pure crimson waves and tendrils of magic that quickly started to circle around Harry. The green cage started to pulse green too.

The black taint that was spreading slowly started to peel off and leave Harry's white apparition. When it fully separated it transformed into a dark mist with a face in it.

"I WILL NOT YIELD! I WILL NOT DIE!" It screamed.

There was another unintelligible set of words coming from the red flames to which the mist screamed "NO! YOU CAN'T!"

Streaks of red lightning started to cascade from the crimson tendrils around Harry, it kept going back and forth through the dark mist and each time it went through it, the mist screamed in pain. The goblins were struggling to keep the magic, and thus the cage, going but they preserved.

It didn't take too long before there was a final scream and the mist became grey now, instead of black, and the face disappeared. The red magic kept swirling around Harry and it absorbed the grey mist into itself before expanding and mixing together with the green cage. It then suddenly rushed towards Harry and entered him, there was a bright flash of light and an explosion.

All the goblins were violently thrown back from the center of the impact, some of them hitting the wall. When they regained their senses they noticed that the whole room was tarnished, with multiple cracks on the walls and ceiling and that the whole runic circle that was there for ages was gone.

In the middle of the room there laid Harry. In the flesh.

Another last, faint whisper reverberated in the air and after finally coming out of his shock, Bladenail barked to other goblins "Quick!"

* * *

While Harry was busy in Gringotts, the staff of Hogwarts were having their first annual pre term meeting where they discussed possible curriculum changes (which was pointless discussion as Dumbledore won't allow any changes), the upcoming term, and of course, new teachers. Since the meeting was held in Headmaster's office, Dumbledore was present there as well.

"And once again we need a replacement for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position," Minerva McGonagall accusingly looked at Severus.

The man in question just scoffed "Hiring a werewolf was not one of Headmaster's brightest ideas," some teachers bristled at clear disrespect towards the Headmaster.

Even though they had to concede to Severus' point about endangering students, Remus was an exceptional teacher and loved by all students. He was the best DADA teacher Hogwarts housed in years.

"Headmaster," Severus' silky voice cut through any incoming objections of his disrespect "Perhaps I can take the position of DADA post this year?" It was well known fact that Severus desired DADA post for a long time.

Dumbledore looked at Severus with his blue, twinkling eyes as he said in his grandfatherly tone "Ah, but Severus my boy, who is going to teach Potions then?" he smiled "You're the youngest potions master and are genius in the craft. No, losing you in potions would not be beneficial," he held up his arm as he saw Severus was about to say something "Besides, I already have solved the problem."

"Have you?" Pomona, the Hufflepuff head of house asked, "So who is the new teacher?"

"Why, it's none other than Alastor Moody, an old friend of mine. I asked him of this favour and he happily agreed."

"Mad-Eye?!" Professor Hooch, the flying instructor exclaimed, "I think he will only be a hazard to students!"

"I must agree," Septima Vector, the Arithmacy teacher, backed up Hooch "He is as crazy as they come," Murmur of agreement spread around the room.

Dumbledore only chuckled at their reaction and tried to placate them "I somewhat understand your reactions, but there is no need to exaggerate – Alastor is quite harmless," everyone looked at the Headmaster like he has finally lost it "I have faith in him, and he is the best veteran auror there and I have no doubt the students will learn a lot from him."

"Be that as it may-" Aurora Sinistra was interrupted by loud, screeching noises that was coming from various trinkets in Dumbledore's office.

These trinkets were also shaking violently, some even letting out steam, and Dumbledore slowly stood up not believing what he was seeing. After a moment of silence the trinkets started exploding one after another and before his office could be turned into a mess, Dumbledore waved his hand and quickly banished all the trinkets. The old man was very distressed and it could be clearly seen in his face.

The blood wards at Privet Drive have fallen and Harry's life was in danger. These trinkets were keyed to Harry and the blood ward, and now they indicated that Harry is on the verge of dying.

"Albus, what is happening?" McGonagall asked "What were those things?"

After a moment of silence Albus Dumbledore snapped back into reality and addressed all the staff in the room who were looking at him for an explanation "Those trinkets," Albus carefully began "Were monitoring one of my, ah, properties. It seems there was a breach. Please, continue with your discussion. Excuse me."

Dumbledore quickly approached his office's old fireplace, took some floo powder and muttered "Nr 8 Privet Drive" under his breath so that no one else would hear. Since he couldn't apparate from inside Hogwarts, he had to to go Mrs Figg's house in order to reach Nr 4.

Just as Dumbledore disappeared in green roaring flames, Sybill's head rolled back before snapping back, her eyes glazed over and started to unearthly glow, and her voice got so low it sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Everyone's attention snapped to Sybill as she started to speak " **The one with the ability to oppose and vanquish the lords approaches as the eighth month blooms; One with an unprecedented power shall lead the army of magic to war. Those who stand with him shall be redeemed, those in his path - destroyed. Secrets shall be revealed and loyalties shall shift. Magik has chosen as the seventh month died, and the one with the ability to right the wrongs will be reborn as the eighth month blooms...** "

Everyone stared at Sybill in disbelief and the Seer herself was now suffering from coughing fit, not realizing that she made a prophecy.

Which, unfortunately, is going to be buried deep in everyone's mind and forgotten for a long time as by the end of the day there is going to be another thing on everyone's mind.

Namely, finding Harry Potter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Firstly, I want to thank everyone for the follows, favourites and reviews! They really mean a lot to me and I'm glad that you guys like the story so far!**

 **Secondly, another dull chapter full of dialogue and explanation and stuff. I just need to get the explanation bit out of the way so I don't need to do it at a later date. Thankfully there is more action next chapter!**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 5

The first thing that came to Harry was silence. And the fact that he could hear silence meant that he was finally coming back to senses. He was pretty tired of swimming in endless mass of darkness for Merlin knows how long and at one point he actually started to think that maybe he was dead.

But apparently not.

Slowly but steadily conscience returned to Harry. Before he opened his eyes he assessed his surroundings and his own feelings. There were several magical presences nearby, but they were no threat to him. As for himself, he felt wonderful and he hasn't felt that good in a very long time.

Harry's eyes fluttered open and bright light that entered them made him wince. He fully opened his eyes when they finally adjusted. The room he was in was not too big, but wasn't small either, with multiple, vacant beds with white sheets lined up along the wall. The room itself was pure white. He guessed it was some sort of hospital thought he couldn't understand why they needed to make it so white. It was even whiter than hospital wing in Hogwarts.

"Why are hospitals always so white?" Harry groaned as he slowly sit up "People can easily get insane in such environment."

"Nonsense," said a rough voice from his right. When Harry turned to look at the owned of the voice it revealed to be a goblin in white hospital gown who was approaching the young man. Harry groaned again. Of course. White. The goblin absent mindedly continued as he finally approached Harry and waved his hand over him and wrote something down "White colour channels magic the best, especially healing magic, that's why we use white chalk-" Harry blinked. So it was ordinary chalk after all "-in healing rituals, and that's also why hospitals are white – it helps with healing patients. So you won't be able to get insane just because of seeing white colour since said white colour would treat mind maladies the moment it appeared."

Harry blinked again. And then he blinked again. And he kept blinking.

Seeing Harry's non stop blinking, the goblin passed a sheet of paper to another goblin who then left the room and then addressed the young man again "Are you alright, Mr Potter? How are you feeling?"

"My..." Harry started, not knowing what to say as he touched his face, or to be more precise – his eyes where his glasses should've been "My glasses? I don't have glasses? Has my eyesight been fixed?"

Relieved it was only that, the goblin smiled that looked a bit too bloodthirsty on his rough face "Yes, Mr Potter. Your eyesight has been fixed during the ritual, which is actually a surprise. Poor eyesight is a Potter family trait so in all honestly, the ritual shouldn't have affected your eyesight too much. However based on our scans, your eyesight is in perfect health now."

Harry nodded and was very happy about the fact, he never liked his glasses anyway and poor eyesight was only a hindrance. "What happened at the ritual?"

"That I cannot answer since I was not part of it. Great Chief Shaman Bladenail will answer all your questions regarding the ritual. He has already been notified of your awakening. You will go to him immediately after the messenger confirms that he is ready to accept you."

"Great Chief Shaman?" Harry inquired, he never heard of such title before "And you're not going to make me stay here for a week or so?"

"Why would we want to keep you here for a week, Mr Potter?" the goblin incredulously asked.

"Well, in the past every time I have ended up in the hospital, the medi-witch that was looking after me always told me that I have to stay in hospital for several days to insure that everything's been healed right."

The goblin snorted "My scans showed you're alright so there is no reason for you to be here. It's waste of time, both mine and yours. As to answer your first question – all goblins are warriors and posses magic that they use for healing, battle, and just every day life. However there are some goblins whose aptitude with magic is several times greater than that of any other goblin. Those goblins are called Shamans. Their chants can enchant our troops, heal the wounded, strengthen the walls, rally the forces, weaken the enemies," he paused "and even in very rare cases summon aid from other worlds. While normal goblins use swords, axes, maces and the like, shamans use staffs and other various trinkets as their grounding tool. Great Chief Shaman is the highest rank a shaman can get and thus signifies that he is the strongest and wisest of them all. Other races cal their magic users differently."

For Harry that was very interesting piece of information, he never knew there was more to goblins than just gold, and shiny weapons "So those are staffs... At first I thought those are only some kind of twigs," the goblin shot him a very unimpressed look, but Harry continued still "Summon aid from other worlds? Grounding tools?"

"Wizards use their magic to conjure small animals, if they are powerful enough, or use transfiguration to change some object into an animal. However those spells are very limited. Summoning, on the other hand, converses with various creatures in other planes and very powerful Shamans can even temporarily call them forth here if a pact has been established. The most powerful being that has been summoned by a goblin was the mighty Cyclops," so that's where the myths about Cyclops came from. After all, even myths have a sliver of truth "As for the grounding tools... wizards use wands, which are called foci, to guide the magic out. Goblins don't need foci as we can freely and easily perform what you call wandless magic due the nature of our inherited magic. Shamans, however, possess even greater connection to their magic core which makes them numb to it. It means they can't feel how much magic they use when performing spells and rituals and so they can quite easily lose control of it. The grounding tool grounds their magic to their core and allows them to cast spells with greater control and without the fear of losing themselves to the magic. I hope that suffices for the explanation?"

Harry nodded and became thoughtful. There was more to goblin civilasation than meets the eye and Harry couldn't help but to wonder if other races have similar or very different concepts of magic. However one thing puzzled him "But why are you telling me this? From what I know is that goblins are very unfriendly to wizards and despises them. And I can tell that what you just told me is not a common knowledge so why share it with me?"

The goblin only smiled "You are very special, Mr Potter."

Before Harry could ask what he meant, another goblin quickly entered the hospital and said to the goblin Harry was just talking with "Great Chief Shaman Bladenail is eager to talk with our ward here. He asked to send Magik Chosen to him."

"Magik Chosen?" Harry asked.

Both goblins turned to him and stared with wide eyes "You can speak gobbledegook?"

"No," Harry replied a bit confused "I'm pretty sure I can't."

"But you can understand it?"

"No I can't. I wasn't able to before the ritual and there is no way I could've learned it while being unconscious."

"And the fact that we, apart from you, are speaking gobbledegook doesn't really sounds strange to you?" the messenger goblin asked and Harry looked at him gobsmacked.

"How peculiar," the healer goblin followed up "Hopefully Great Chief Shaman Bladenail will know more of this. As you heard, he is waiting for you. His office is literally opposite from here. All you need to do is leave this room and enter the door that will be in front of you."

Nodding, Harry stood up from his bed and thanked the goblin healer for taking care of him while he was unconscious. He made his way to the door while ignoring that he was only wearing white hospital gown. He didn't see any of his old clothes around so he assumed they were disposed of.

He left the hospital and found himself standing in the same hallway he walked when he first came to see Bladenail. Come to think of it he never saw that there was another door that led to the goblin hospital.

As the healer goblin said, there was a pair of doors opposite of Harry which just like before swung open when he approached them.

"Took you long time to wake up, Mr Potter. We almost started to fear the worst," Bladenail greeted Harry and invited him to take a seat by waving his hand towards some chair near the walls that soared through the air and landed next to the goblin's desk.

"How many days have I been unconscious?" Harry asked as he sat down.

"For almost two weeks, Mr Potter."

Harry's eyes widened at that. That was a long time and he had very little time left until he had to return to Hogwarts, and he still had to get his school supplies and wand, not to mention find a place to stay. Though something at the back of his mind told him that he had a place that is his home.

"I see," Harry said when he regained his composure "Then we should proceed with this meeting, Great Chief Shaman Bladenail. I would like to know what happened at the ritual, it's effects on me, and whatever other information you deem important to share that concerns me. I trust you to be honest."

Bladenail raised an eyebrow at Harry's change of attitude "There is no need for honorifics, Mr Potter."

"Then please call me Harry."

"Very well, Harry," Bladenail nodded "I assume the goblin healer explained what a shaman is," Harry nodded "Then I won't waste time on explaining that seeing as you don't have questions."

"I do have questions, but they can wait until later date as they are not that important."

Bladenail nodded again "I see. Then lets proceed with today's agenda then," Bladenail shifted some papers around "What happened at the ritual was very marvellous and at the same time very disastrous."

"What happened there, exactly? The last thing I remember was your twi... uh, staff slamming and some chanting. Then I lost conscience."

"And it's good thing that you did lost conscience at the very beginning, otherwise the pain would have been unbearable," Bladenail paused a bit "The ritual originally went as planned – we got your full inheritances listed, as well as the healing process was doing its job since we could hear your bones re breaking and mending. However, there was an interference of sorts with our healing and cleansing."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that "Interference?"

"Yes," Bladenail nodded "Namely the horcrux in your scar."

"I had a horcrux in my scar?" Harry exclaimed "Did you know I had a horcrux in my scar before attempting the ritual?"

"You know of horcruxes?" Bladenail asked, quite intrigued and surprised how such a young wizard could come across such vile magic.

Something clicked in young wizard's mind "Yes, it's one of the hardest spell of darker soul magic branch that offer the caster temporary immortality. Horcruxes are made by splitting your soul with a murder and then putting it into container. That way if the caster gets killed, he doesn't pass on as he has a piece of soul on the Earth that tethers him to life," Harry owlishly blinked "How did I know that?"

"Very interesting," Bladenail observed "And correct. As for your question, yes, we were aware of the horcrux in your scar – the blood-ward warned us of a foreign soul being tethered to yours. But since the Magik itself didn't warn us about any side effects, we assumed it is still fine to proceed with the ritual.

And as I was saying, the horcrux interfered with the ritual and tried to possess your body while you were in a weakened state, seeing as all your magic was focused on the healing and to keep you alive. However, there was yet another interference – the Magik itself."

"Magik itself?"

"Yes, Harry. That lily on your hand was not just a mere by product of some accident. Your body -that tattoo- housed the very blood-ward you awakened, the very entity that is Magik. From what I understand, its original defensive properties responded to the danger and then took matters in its own hands to ensure your survival," Bladenail stopped and looked at Harry's eyes that were glowing like twin emerald flames "Magik took control of the entire ritual circle and adjusted its design and purpose. When it was finished, the Magik then stripped you of all material humanity."

"Material humanity?"

"Yes. Flesh, and bones, and blood. All that was left was your soul held together on this plane by your magic and Magik. We then saw that the horcrux was intimately embedded into your own soul, and so was Magik itself. We then witnessed how Magik came to material life once again in the form of crimson apparition and it joined forces with your own magic and together they battled the horcrux that was so deeply embedded into your soul. They tried to destroy it. However, drawing from all my thousand years worth of experience and knowledge, the horcrux couldn't be fully destroyed."

"Only basilisk venom or fiend fyre, or something of equal strength can destroy a horcrux," Harry said and blinked again "That's weird. So they didn't manage to destroy it?"

"They didn't destroy it, but they managed to get rid of the entity that was inhabiting the horcrux. Your soul then absorbed and merged with whatever was left of it."

"I assume that's where all this knowledge comes from?" Harry inquired and then made a disgusting face "Does that mean I have all of Voldemort's memories up to the day he tried to kill me?" Harry noticed and was glad that the goblin didn't even react to the use of Dark Lord's name.

Bladenail smiled "Not quite. Memories of the Dark Lord were destroyed along with his presence and magic in the horcrux. What remained was just pure knowledge he had accumulated to that point. Memories and knowledge are completely different things. However, I do not know what kind of knowledge you've retained – you will have to discover it for yourself. I advise start practicing occlumency."

Harry nodded "Yes, occlumency will greatly help sorting out my mind," having knowledge of powerful wizard would tremendously help him if he knew how to access them. After a small pause he continued with his questions "What happened then? How did I come back to this?" he wildly gestured to his body.

"The blood-ward was also deeply embedded into your soul and core, but it was already part of you. No, Magik was already part of you and so it only returned from where it came. All the magic it accumulated over the years returned to you. Your soul, your true magic and our healing ritual were working in tandem and have restored your body back to full health as it should have been. All the years of starvation and beatings gone. All the sickness gone. You are a fresh leaf now, a fresh book of your story. In a way, you got reborn. Along with some boosts, considering it was Magik reincarnation, albeit short lived. You will start to notice its effects on you quite soon, though you already have discovered one seeing as I was talking in gobbledegook all this time," Bladenail smirked at seeing Harry's surprised face.

"But I can't talk gobbledegook?"

"Of course not, you will need to learn it to be able to speak," Bladenail leaned forward in his chair "You must remember, Harry, that all the creatures are children of Magik. And their languages are but whisps of its magnificence. You, my dear boy -I apologise for being so informal-, can understand and comprehend magic. You are Magik's chosen."

"Magik's chosen?"

"Today is not the day to explain that," Bladenail smirked "At the moment we have more pressing matters to discuss and attend."

Harry was a bit annoyed but he understood. And he was also amazed at what happened during the ritual. A fresh page? Fully healed? His whole magic returned plus a boost? Harry let a smirk cross his handsome face, which was mirrored by the goblin in the office. Oh yes, the coming months are going to be very eventful and unforgettable.

"Very well. I thank you for explaining to me what happened, I appreciate not being kept in the dark. What is next on the agenda then?"

"Your emancipation and accepting your lordships, of course," Bladenail said as he pulled out a stack of papers seemingly from nowhere.

"Emancipation? But don't I need my magical guardian's consent for that?" Harry asked.

Minor emancipation is done in rare cases when heir is the only member of the family left alive. Being considered adult gives them privileges and access to things that they normally wouldn't have access to and that way they can better protect themselves from danger when outside Hogwarts. However, there needs to be at least one adult's signature approving of emancipation, and usually it would be magical guardian or well known family ally.

"You don't have magical guardian," Bladenail sneered "Albus Dumbledore named himself your magical guardian, but the Magik stripped him of that privilege when he made several transgressions on your name. So it was easy to get the proper documentation, especially in two weeks that you were dozing off. All you need to do is sign them, accept your lordships, clap your hands six hundred sixty six times and twirl around on each eleventh clap. And it's done and done."

Harry stared at Bladenail and after a moment cracked a wide grin, releasing some of the tension that built up during the conversation. He needed that little bit of humour "I'll just pretend I didn't hear the last part," Bladenail just smirked in return "What transgressions though?"

"One Albus Dumbledore used your vault key and made a monthly standing order from main Potter vaults into his accounts, as well as into Dursley's muggle accounts," noticing Harry's angry face he continued "Yes, we were quite angry too. And what is even worse is that we only noticed it after Magik Blood Ward visited us. We were looking into your accounts and found discrepancies and then investigated further. However, we didn't take any action as we wanted to know how would you like us to proceed."

Harry nodded and smiled "Thank you for not taking any action. Who allowed the standing order to be set?"

"Arrowdent," Bladenail immediately supplied "He is the Potter family accountant, and we investigated him thoroughly. He has had a lot of meetings with Dumbledore, but we do not know what those meetings were about because of customer confidentiality."

"Is it possible to overlook confidentiality rule if anther customer's confidentiality was severely broken?" Harry asked.

"Of course."

Harry feel silent in deep thought and pondered how he should proceed with this piece of information. "Can we return to this a bit later? My course of action will depend on these new lordships I will gain. I assume I have multiple?"

Bladenail nodded "That is correct," he handed Harry a big folder of paper and an elegant looking quill without ink "That's the emancipation form."

"Blood quill," Harry mused "Used to sign all the important documents in the wizarding world. And I don't really have time nor wish to read through these," he shuffled and looked at the stack of papers that had tremendous amount of tiny writing on it "I will trust you that you looked through them and there is nothing that will impede me?"

Bladenail was shocked that Harry showed so much trust in a goblin, even though it shouldn't be a surprise considering who he is, but people were different. Usually wizards would thoroughly read through anything that a goblin gave them and still would find fault in the smallest of things.

"Yes, I wrote up the documents myself and checked them over multiple times for any mistakes. It's load of ministry information and guidelines, and what it means to be emancipated and all that stuff. You only need to sign on the last page at the bottom."

Harry nodded and did as Bladenail told him. As he finished signing (not even flinching at the slight sting of the blood quill), the stack of papers glowed blue and then with a pop the papers were gone.

"The documents have been sent to ministry achieves and as of right now you are emancipated and considered an adult in the eyes of Magik and the wizarding world. Congratulations," Bladenail said.

Well Harry definitely didn't feel any different apart from being glad that no one can now force him to do things.

The ancient goblin did another hand wave and five black boxes popped into existence and landed on the big desk in front of Harry. They automatically opened and each box housed a ring. All of them, except the one in the middle, had golden base ring a different stone on them with different coat of arms for each family. The one in the middle, however, was made of pure diamond in a thorny/vine-like pattern.

"You know, Harry, when I looked at the list of the families you can lordship to I was very shocked but at the same time I perfectly understood why Magik chose you," Bladenail said.

"Why? What family names am I heir to?" Harry absent mindedly asked as he stared at the rings.

He felt a pull towards these rings, all of them were begging for Harry to put them on and claim them. They yearned for new Lord of their house, but before Harry put them on he will hear what Bladenail has to say.

"The cleansing ritual and your accidental rebirth, which I believe was not that fully accidental, cleaned your blood and awakened dormant bloodlines of times long since gone," Bladenail began but Harry interrupted him with incredulous voice before he managed to continue.

"Cleaned? I hope you realise you sounded like one of those purebloods."

Bladenail shot him an unimpressed and displeased look "It's a manner of speech. All blood is the same, however old bloodlines would eventually disappear only for new ones to appear. Take a look at Malfoys – originally they were from France and many, many generations ago they were called Malfories. They got married to someone, mixed their families and eventually changed their family name and thus created new family. They are still purebloods with traces back to Malfories, but Malfoys of today can't claim Malforie lordships, titles, vaults and possesions, since the last living Malforie died hundreds of years back without transferring anything to the new family name. It happens a lot in wizarding world. They will be able to claim the Malforie fortune and titles only when an heir who has potent, direct Malforie blood in them will be born. And that will likely never happen because Malforie blood has been too diluted with other families over generations. That wouldn't been the problem, however, if the last living true Malforie transferred everything to the new name. Does that cover the explanation?"

"Yes Bladenail, I apologise for my rudeness."

Bladenail nodded "Apology accepted."

And so Bladenail continued to explain. Because Harry got reborn with his blood restored to it's oldest origins, he inherited some old bloodlines. Namely Gryffindor and Peverell, since they were Potter's ancestors, and along with them Hufflepuff. He also inherited Slytherin lordship by conquest – there was an ancient spell put on the Slytherin family that only direct descendants can claim lordship and heirs, however since that spell was put during the feudal times, it abided by feudal laws in some twisted form of logic. And so by defeating the Slytherin lord as a person of opposing faction, he has the rights to claim the conquered titles and property. The fourth ring, was Potters that he is immediate descendant and heir to.

"The fifth ring, however," Bladenail paused and regarded Harry and the diamond ring with unhidden curiosity and even respect "Is to the house of Emrys."

"Emrys?" Harry exclaimed "As in, Merlin?"

Bladenail nodded and continued "Merlin was the first Magik's chosen, you being the third. And sands of history and time do not speak of second chosen in detail only that there was one. And after digging quite deep into our oldest achieves, so old they have a chance of crumbling from mere touch, hidden so deep under Gringotts it would take a squad to get there and back, dating back to when Gringotts was only a newly formed cave of new goblins," Harry was starting to wonder how serious Bladenail was now "I found some old family tree documents. You know, after researching them, I am not surprised you were chosen. For you are Merlin's descendant. To be precise, Potters, the four Hogwarts founders, and Peverells are Merlin's descendants. And by being reborn and infused with Magik, you awakened that ancient bloodline. As Magik's chosen you are his heir both in blood and magic."

To say that Harry was shocked was an understatement. Not every day you find out that you're somewhat direct heir to the ancient house of Emrys.

"How?" was the only thing Harry could say at the moment.

"I do not know, exactly, but according to the old and ancient records Merlin had four children – Antoch, Cadnus and Ignotus, yet the name of the fourth child eludes the records of history. They changed their surnames to Peverell as soon as they hit majority, for unknown reasons, and then made a name for themselves."

"The Deathly Hallows," Harry took out a piece of information from his new-found knowledge "But it's just children's tale, isn't it? The passage about receiving gifts from Death sounds atrocious."

"Right you are, Harry. It is impossible to converse with death unless, of course, you sacrifice your own life. There was a group of people who actually managed to summon Death into this plane of existence but as far as the records go, they all died within seconds and Death returned back where it came from," Bladenail paused and after taking a sip of whatever was in the cup (Harry never noticed that sometime during their conversation a full plate of drinks and snacks popped on Bladenail's desk!) and motioned for Harry to join him. Harry did so as he felt hungry, and chose what looked the safest to eat.

After a moment of silence Bladenail continued "That story is more or less nonsense, only teaching kids these days some morals. Peverells made a name for themselves as very powerful and renowned Necromancers. And then they themselves created what people call deathly hallows, however the exact details of their deaths are not known. But we need to backtrack now.

Records don't know what happened and why they changed their names. Each of the children married, and after many generations the names were changed again. Antoch's descendants became Hufflepuffs; Cadmus' many generations grand children became Slytherins; Ignotus' descendants became Gryffindors. And one can only guess what happened with the fourth child, though lack of records might indicate that he or she died early.

By weird twist of fate, three of the four founders somehow managed to gather together and build Hogwarts, but we do not know if they really knew they were actually all distant relatives.

After another many generations, Slytherins turned into Gaunts, and Gryffindors into Potters. Hufflepuff's last heir died around the same year when first Potters were born. And that concludes today's history lesson."

That was a lot to take in. Harry never had a family and learning about his roots was very important to him. It is important to know where you come from, to see where you can go. His ancestors were all amazing, powerful, and great people - admired by many, feared by even more. And Harry made a vow that he will live up to that standard.

"Does that mean," Harry began "That by being Emrys heir, I also automatically inherit all these lines as all of them came from him?"

"That is correct, Harry."

"So then what would my title be?"

"Well it would either be Lord Potter-Gryffindor–Slytherin–Hufflepuff–Peverell-Emrys," Bladenail said and chuckled at Harry's 'are you fucking serious' face "or just Duke Emrys."

"Duke?"

"Yes. Merlin owned a tremendous area of a land where people lived and where they considered Merlin to be their patron, and so due to this and also his prowess as a wizard and his wisdom, he was blessed by that time's ruling body and given the title of Duke. Or so the records say."

Harry nodded. It was a lot to take in but he is not going to refuse something so big. He will need time to adjust and to sort out through all the information and make plans for the future, but for now he is ready to accept for who he is.

"I see. Do I really need to wear all these rings at the same time?" Harry asked.

Instead of verbally replying, Bladenail waved his hands over the rings. They emitted a soft glow in the colours of rainbow before settling on deep emerald. Unexpectedly there was a flash and now instead of five rings there was one. It was a simple, skinny, round ring made of pure diamond with _Potter-Gryffindor–Slytherin–Hufflepuff–Peverell_ inscribed in glowing letters, each in the houses' colours (goldish - red, crimson, green, yellow, purple respectivelly) that went all around the ring.

"Please, Harry, put your ring on whichever finger you'd like it on."

And so Harry did.

He picked up the ring from the black box and he immediately felt warmth spread all over his body, almost like the sun itself was shining on him. He carefully inspected the ring, marveling at how finely crafted it was, its smoothness, and how beautifully the family names were inscribed around it.

He then put the ring on his middle finger of the right hand and it fitted him perfectly. The ring glowed bright blue, covering Harry himself in the veil of magic which slowly turned into emerald shade and when it finally turned fully green, Harry felt something settle inside him, in his soul. Some kind of belongingness, familiarity. That warmth was so comfortable and welcoming and he knew at once that he has been accepted as Lord of the house of Emrys.

"I congratulate you on your emancipation and on your new titles, Duke Harry Emrys," Bladenail said as he stood up and even bowed.

The emerald glow dispersed into the air, leaving a burning emerald fire in Harry's eyes that reeked of power. The young wizard had a full out grin on his face and he laughed "There is no need to change formalities, oh Great Chief Shaman Bladenail. I prefer we stick with our first names."

"If course, Harry," Bladenail chuckled as he sat back down in his chair "I thought it's appropriate to welcome you formally seeing as many people will address you as such."

"Now that's grim," Harry winced "Harry Emrys. Doesn't sound good. I assume I can slightly change my name here and it will change in all the records as well?" when Bladenail nodded he thought a bit and finally said "I wish to be formally known as Harrison Emrys. But friends may call me Harry. I wanted to let Potter name stay since it is my birth name, but I guess there is no point as it would be overlooked anyway," he smiled at that.

"I suspect that will be the case. And of course, Harrison, I will update that information when were are done for today.

Harry laughed at the ancient goblin "Please, Bladenail. From the short time we've known each other I consider you a friend. So I'm still Harry."

"Of course," Bladenail smiled. He haven't been called a friend by a wizard ever and it was a welcoming feeling of being finally accepted by someone who was of the world they wished to be part of.

Indeed, great times are coming with wizard such as Harry out there.

"Now I wish to see the properties and all the other material things I've inherited from these five families."

"I've prepared all the documents and papers that we will need for today while you were resting," Bladenail said and produced a ledger "That way we save time. Time is money, after all."

Harry picked up the ledger and looked through it and was quite impressed at what he saw. Potter, Peverell, and Slytherin vaults were the only vaults that had money in them and according to the amount Harry reasoned that he and his children, if he had any, could easily sit with their thumbs up their arses their whole life and never work. It was tremendous amount of money made through generations and generations of investments.

Apart from gold, Potter vault consisted of some family books and heirlooms, mainly on light magic as well as some latest generation books.

Gryffindor vault mostly consisted of rare weapons, rare minerals like ore and gems, some books on warfare, grey magic, history, and interestingly enough a lot of clothes, both for battle and every day life. Slytherin vault, on the other hand, was full of gold, lots of books on darker spells and alchemy, and so many rare potion ingredients that Snape would gladly sell his soul for them, Harry thought. Hufflepuff vault was full of paintings, statues, vases, books on healing and herbology, and also some rare plants that were growing under the stasis charm. He will definitely need to read all of the books that were there if he wants to gain more knowledge and live up to Emrys name.

Peverell vault was full of gold, books on rituals and necromancy, and tools for said rituals. Harry was actually curious about this branch of magic since it's part of his ancestry and he swore to check it out. He stopped for a second to wonder when his perception of magic, of evil and good, changed. After some thinking he came to conclusion that it always have been like that. For him magic was magic, and the opinion of light and dark was not actually his own but rather of those he surrounded himself with. Harry wondered if, for example, Slytherins like Malfoy considered dark magic to be good, and light magic to be bad.

However, Emrys vault interested Harry the most. There was not a single knut of gold there. And there was only one book in the vault named "Druid: Bealucræft of Ealdor ac Holt". Additionally, there was a lot of journals without titles. When he asked Bladenail it turned out that back then there was no means of mass printing books and wasn't even a schooling institute. So when a wizard wanted to get educated, he'd go for an apprenticeship from a well known master and learn from him. Masters would write journals on their craft and use them to teach their apprentices. It was an excellent opportunity for Harry to see what kind of stuff Merlin taught back then. The vault also contained tremendous amount of crafting materials: ores, gems, powders, feathers and whatnot, as well as growing plants and even trees. The young Duke was curious as how that vault would look like.

Harry also now owned some properties all around the globe, most of them being in the Britain. He even had castles – Gryffindor, Peverell, and Emrys castles and Harry was very excited to visit them all and see what they held. He actually had a home of its own where he could live. Unfortunately all that Hufflepuffs owned was in Gringotts vault. Surprisingly he also partially owned Hogwarts.

"Partially?" Harry asked Bladenail when he read that section "Is there any other owners of the castle?"

Bladenail shook his head "No, Harry. Hogwarts is an ancient castle built on several thick and powerful ley lines, guarded by most powerful wards known to wizardkind. A place where massive amount of magic is performed daily. The castle by all means is sentient. As far as I know you will need to be fully approved by Hogwarts in order to gain full ownership."

Harry nodded and it made sense. If the bloodward around his house came to life after years of prolonged magical and emotional feeding, then it only made sense that Hogwarts would eventually become sentient too.

Harry put down the ledger and fell in deep thought. He owned a lot of stuff and now he also had the resources to become the best wizard alive, ambition that he swore to fulfill. All his life he only been mediocre at best and now with his rebirth its time to change that. No one will ever be able to step on him any more.

"I will want to visit my vaults when we are done for today," Harry said.

"Of course, Harry. We are almost done anyway. All that is left for today is what to do with Arrowdent's breach of privacy and Dumbledore," after Harry nodded in understanding, Bladenail continued "After our investigation we found out that Arrowdent was accepting bribes from one Albus Dumbledore and made decisions of your accounts and vaults without your consent. Arrowdent was immediately removed as Potter accountant, so we will need to approve of a new one. Is there anything you would like us to do with Arrowdent? It's your decision as it was your vaults that were breached," Bladenail said and expectedly looked at Harry.

Harry couldn't help but sneer. Goblins were known for their love for gold, but they also were trustworthy when it came to the job of keeping wizarding gold in their banks. The fact that one of the goblins succumbed to the nature of their greed didn't speak very well to Harry. What if there were others like that and other families suffered too?

"Has he been questioned?" Harry finally asked.

Bladenail immediately replied "Not yet. He wasn't notified of the investigation, we only told him that he was suspended from his duties for a short while and never gave the reason as to why."

"Good. I want him to be questioned and all the information gotten out of him – his motives, who he was working for, the type of bribes he accepted, anything that concerns my account and I want to know what other dealings he had with Dumbledore. And then I want him to be punished," Harry smirked "After all, he breached the privacy and confidentiality of Duke Emrys. That won't be taken lightly."

Bladenail couldn't help but give a bloodthirsty smirk that looked very menacing and creepy on ancient goblin's soft face features. He then barked in laugher "Oh indeed, Duke Emrys. The crime is grievous and your wish shall be done."

Harry, still smirking, asked "What about Dumbledore?"

"There was a lot of money coming out of your vaults and split evenly between two of Dumbledore's vaults. There was also some sum going into muggle Dursley accounts. We do not know, however, what other things Arrowdent and him did over the years, but we will find out more now that we can interrogate Arrowdent. What would you want us to do with all that gold? We can safely take all that gold and transfer it back to you since it was illegal withdrawals and we can prove it."

Harry shook his head "No, that won't be necessary yet," he didn't know what kind of game Dumbledore was playing or what his true motives were towards him. He already knew it wasn't anything good, but it's better not to act too early. He knew that much "Regarding this I do not want to act prematurely."

Harry spent another several minutes thinking of possible plan of action, tapping his finger against in the desk as he was submerged in his thoughts. While he didn't want to do anything drastic to Dumbledore yet, he also didn't want to leave him unpunished. Harry smiled as an idea came to him.

"Would it be possible to, lets say, add 10% interest to all the gold he has withdrawn so far and then add another 5% interest on all the future withdrawals? Call it 'long term customer' perk. The interest, of course, coming from my Potter vault. Without him knowing."

"That can be arranged. May ask why, though?"

"Well, would it be possible then to at one point to get all my gold back, plus the interest that it has accumulated, and also a bonus from his own vaults as an apology on behalf of the bank for such a grievous crime and misconduct that has been done to a well known Potter family name," Harry asked and even added a mock hurt tone to emphasise what he thought of this whole situation "As for Dursleys, I want you to drain all of their accounts and return to me what they owed me. I want to see how will they react to them."

Bladenail darkly chuckled "Well of course it's possible for such a client as you, Harry. Justice eventually will be done, you are just adding a little bit of spark in it. If this plan comes to pass then it will completely dry Dumbledore's accounts given time. Dumbledores were not overly rich family, and most of Albus' wealth came from his efforts as a war hero and Light Lord. As for Dursleys, it will be done."

"Then all my business here are settled, it seems," Harry said and was about to stand up when Bladenail said

"Ah, but we need to find new accountant for your enormous new vaults."

Harry looked puzzled for a second "Can't you just do it?"

"You'd trust me with your vaults to be your accountant? I honestly expected you to withdraw everything from Gringotts and change your banks."

Harry couldn't help but laugh "Of course I'd trust you, Bladenail! You've done a lot for me in these past few days and I won't forget your kindness and your trustworthiness. And one person doesn't define a whole nation, so my hope in goblins is not lost. However I'd still would like if all the accountants were checked – I don't want same thing to happen for less fortunate families."

Bladenail honestly didn't know what to feel or say, but he was forever grateful for his own decision to help this wizard as Magik itself asked. Maybe, just maybe, it can be a first step to true friendship between a goblin and wizard.

"Then I would be more than honoured to take care of your accounts and vaults, and manage your investments. Cyclop knows I am bored most of the days here. But as an accountant I will require to take a percentage of gold you make as a payment for my services."

Harry smiled "But of course, I didn't expect anything else. Would 8% be enough?"

The ancient goblin's eyes widened in surprise "That's double the amount we usually ask!"

The young wizard waved him off "Don't worry, I have enough gold to last for several lifetimes and I believe that my gold will only grow under your guidance. So I want your gold to grow with mine. Better yet, make it 12% and let it be a start to a wonderful friendship and partnership!"

That wizard was completely bonkers, Bladenail said, but he knew this opportunity is too good to pass and what Harry said was true. Bladenail's gold will grow with Harry's and Harry just gave the goblin the biggest trust that a wizard can give to a goblin, namely managing large amount of gold and then sharing it. "I thank you for this, Harry! And I swear that your accounts and vaults are going to be kept in the most perfect condition."

"And I trust you to uphold that promise," Harry said as he stood up "I believe our immediate business are done, and quite frankly I want to step outside and breath fresh air. But firstly, I want to visit my vaults and take anything that would strike my fancy."

"Of course, Harry," Bladenail said as he also stood up "But maybe you should get some proper clothes first? I don't think wizards will understand if their celebrity stepped out of Gringotts looking like that."

"And I will never forgive myself for not presenting myself in the very best," Harry laughed as they left the office "Shall we visit Gryffindor vault first then? Ledger said there should be some clothing."

"Certainly, Harry. Old and smelly, ancient wizard robes must be better than white hospital gown."

And so both wizard and goblin made their way to the goblin carts that will take them to the deepest Gringotts levels to see Harry's vault. Many goblins that they met on their way incredulously looked at the pair, not believing that a wizard and goblin were casually talking and joking around.

Yes, the goblins thought, great times are approaching indeed.

* * *

 **Malforie name was actually made up by different Author whose name I cannot remember right now, but this is probably the only time it will be used.**

 **Druid: Bealucræft of Ealdor ac Holt - is in olde english meaning Druid: Magic of Life and Forest. I used old english translator so don't judge me if it's actually wrong :D**

 **Next chapter hopefully will be much more exciting:**

 **\- very short scene of visiting vaults (very short as that is not even important)**

 **\- getting new wand**

 **\- timeskip into boarding Hogwarts express and meeting the crowd!**

 **And I really appreciate all the likes, and follows and reviews! Keep 'em coming!**

 **Until next tim** e.


	6. Chapter 6

**This time I updated quite quickly and we finally arrived at Hogwarts. Can finally get the plot moving.**

 **Updated extra fast because I was just too excited to share the chapter.**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 6

It took another two hours to visit all of Harry's new vaults, each of them even more amazing than the previous one. According to Bladenail, all the vaults eventually became semi-sentient and would develop their own interior and defences according to family's magic alignment and talents, as well as the items that lie within them. It was a very long process so newer vaults would have less sentience and development.

Potter vault was bright, its walls decorated with paintings of villages, happiness, lions, stags and does. The last two made Harry sadly smile, seeing as those were the latest representation of his father and mother. Harry was also sad to learn that latest Lord and Lady of the house -his mum and dad- did not leave behind a portrait since they were still young. Add to the fact that there was a war going on at that time there wasn't really a safe time to make one. Bladenail informed him, that there might be portraits of his other, older family members in one of the Potter properties.

Gryffindor vault was very much like Potter's, except the walls and pictures on it were created from what seemed like stained glass, like the ones you would find in muggle churches. Magic generated light would hit the glass and the light would cascade throughout the vault like dancing sprites and illuminate even the darkest corners of the room, allowing Harry to see everything hidden within.

Slytherin vault on the other hand, was dark and contained many snake statues and paintings, and in the middle of the vault there was even a large patch of fresh ground where the potion ingredients were growing.

Hufflepuff vault radiated warmth, and its entire walls were a living scenery of forest and of nature, its ceiling – the sunny sky. The ground was covered in short, grass with occasional berry patch here and there.

Peverell vault, like Slytherin's, was dark and when Harry stepped in the vault it seemed like the walls themselves were closing in around him and even made it hard to breath, forcing the feeling of claustrophobia that made him want to flee. But as he stepped deeper, he felt his ring warm up and the same familiarity feeling sprung in his chest one again and at once, the feeling of enclosing walls ended. A purple light illuminated the whole vault, cascaded from glass skulls, reflected from occasional scythes and gave off an eeriness that any stranger would heed and flee. But it welcomed Harry instead.

Emrys vault was the most wonderful of them all. From the first moment Harry stepped in he was greeted by enormous forest like setting – trees were growing from the walls, encircling with each other, their healthy green foliage creating a canopy where magical sun's beams shot through and landed on the foresty ground. Live animals were running on and about, birds flying over Harry's head and welcoming him with their songs. It's as if he stepped into a realistic, breathing, live forest. The items in the vault were stocked in crooks of the trees, or held by vines and bushes in orderly fashion. For Harry, it was unforgettable experience to be immersed in such an ancient vault.

Thankfully Bladenail supplied him with bottomless bag so he managed to take everything that interested him, mainly lots and lots of books. Hermione would have been both impressed and jealous. Majority of them were from Emrys and Peverell vaults, though he also took some from his other vaults. Harry also managed to find suitable clothing in Gryffindor vault - a manly looking robe in Gryffindor red and gold that fitted snugly around his developed chest (Harry never knew he had such a good chest!).

Harry finally said his thanks and goodbyes to Bladenail and with the bottomless bag over his shoulder finally stepped out into the Diagon Alley.

He spent the majority of his day in Gringotts so he wasn't entirely surprised to see the sun already starting to set, and some rare stars dimly shining in the cloudless sky. Harry heavily breathed in the fresh evening air and grinned.

"Merlin, I missed fresh air!" he muttered to himself and laughed "Using my ancestor's name to swear? Amusing."

He slowly made his way deeper into the Diagon Alley and looked around. Most shops were already closed, but the more popular ones were still opened. Must be because new school year is around the corner and the shops attract more customers now, Harry mused. It would benefit the business if the shops were opened for longer.

While Harry and Bladenail were on their way back to the surface after visiting Emrys vault, which was in the deepest level of Gringotts, young wizard had plenty of time to make a mental shopping list. All he needed was new clothes, a wand, potion ingredients, and new school year's books. He already planned that more pressing items would be clothes and a wand; Everything else he will get on the day of the departure.

His first stop was Madam Malkin's, where she took his new measurements and complimented him of how much he had grown up since she first saw him three years ago. Harry then ordered lots of various clothes and robes -formal, school, everyday- of finest silk they could produce in different colours, mainly red, gold, purple, green, and black, each colour for his families. When Madam Malkin expressed her doubt if Harry could actually pay, he just grinned and paid there on the spot using a pouch that was connected to his vaults. Malkin was left speechless at the wealth spent, and Harry left the shop grinning. Yes, buying clothes was awesome.

His last stop for tonight was Ollivander's wand shop. As he closed the door, Harry was suddenly overwhelmed by a massive wave of awareness that he never experienced before. When he was 11 and he first visited this shop there was a buzzing feeling at the back of his mind, whereas now it was something euphoric, and if he was to close his eyes he would feel and see what was beyond normal and tangible reach. He saw what he didn't see before.

There was plenty of magic here and like in Emrys' vault it felt alive. Each wand he saw radiated well concealed power and occasionally a whisp of one or another colour would escape it when magic touched the wand. There were particles in the air that most would undoubtedly believe to be dust, but Harry knew better. He could see. Those were clotted magic of residual spells, and accidental magic channelled through the dormant wands that lay on the shelves. To breathe in this place was to breathe magic.

"Wonderful, isn't it," Ollivander said from over the counter where he was observing Harry "A place where wands are made and stored will always be the closest to Magik – it's a place where magic freely enters and leaves the material realm without the guidance of a wizard. Wand shops are also the best place for young wizards to get their wands because in such places the wizard is connected to their magic core the most and thus more precise connection and match can be found and made with a wand," he then motioned around him "As you undoubtedly have noticed, the air itself is magic here."

Harry wasn't surprised by Ollivander's sudden appearance, somewhat expecting it "I see how wizards and creatures wouldn't be harmed, but what about muggles?"

Ollivander regarded him for a second and said as he stepped around the counter "In a wand shop, they would need to be hospitalized within seconds. You could say magic is like radiation and is very harmful to those who do not possess it. As we -wizards, witches, and creatures- possess and inherit magic from birth, it's not harmful to us," Ollivander then adopted a mock thinking expression "Even though less powerful magickals have complained about sudden migraines," Ollivander then set his pale eyes on Harry "For us it's easy to convert magic into destructive purposes, since that's more or less what the radiation does if we still look at it from muggle perspective. And it's much more difficult to use magic for healing or transfiguration. That's why we use a lot of healing potions, and not spells, and why transfiguration is not a famous tool in wizarding duels," he said.

"But muggleborns and their parents-" Harry started but was cut off by the wand maker.

"There's a strong ward put at the entrance of the shop that repels anyone not strong enough to withstand the magic here, but that welcomes those who can. It has been put there to protect muggleborn parents and weak individuals," he finished explaining "But that's not why you are here."

For Harry today was a day of revelation and he just found yet another thing to look at when he had the chance. Seems like the coming year is going to be purely academic. But Ollivander was right, he was here for a new wand and not lessons on magic, however interesting they might be.

"Yes, Mr Ollivander. I am here to get-"

"- a staff. And I don't even want to know what happened to your wand," Ollivander interrupted Harry "Follow me then, Duke Emrys." he clapped, spun on his heel and quickly disappeared behind the counter.

Harry could only owlishly blink (one of them twigs the goblins were using?) and hurried after Ollivander lest he lost him. As he entered into a door behind the counter it revealed to be a small, dimly lit corridor with stairs that led into the basement. Ollivander was already impatiently waiting for him near the stairs.

"How did you know I-"

"-need a staff?" Ollivander snorted as he quickly started to descend "Anyone who's not blind could see that you have potent magic and need a staff. And it means a lot coming from an old, blind man."

Harry barely managed to keep up with surprisingly fast old man "No, I mean how did you know I-"

"-have strong magic?" Ollivander interrupted again as another torch blazed into life as the pair approached them "I could see it the same way I normally see."

Bizarre answer but Harry was getting annoyed at being interrupted so he just rushed the sentence in one fast breath "How did you know I am Emrys?"

Ollivander stopped so suddenly Harry almost ran into his back. Ollivander turned around to look at Harry with his pale eyes that Harry now realised were trully blind, and said "I can see magic more clearly than the best of aura readers. You are the only person I've ever met whose aura matches that of Magik itself, plus having some of your own individual properties. And it's been ingrained into our family how to recognise heir of Emrys and Magik chosen," he then glared at his ring "And your ring that shines brighter than ten suns is a dead give away," he then touched a random brick on the wall and the door in front of them swung open.

Harry was so focused on Ollivander he didn't even notice they arrived, but at least it now made sense how Ollivander knew straight away. And yet he was another one to mention that term

"Magik chosen?"

"Some other time," Ollivander replied and seriously looked Harry dead into the eyes, he needed to know "Now, have you been told anything regarding me?"

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion but managed to recall the memory of Lily quite quickly "That you will be my biggest ally. Magicae texente tela legatum renascitur."

Ollivander nodded and smiled "It is as I though then," and then he sharply turned around and spread his arms wide as if presenting some majestic prize "Now! Time to make your staff."

"But I want a wand, not a tw- uh, staff," Harry seriously said.

"I know perfectly well what you wanted to say," Ollivander seriously reprimanded and then got cheerful again "Nonsense! Only a staff would suit you," sensing Harry's confusion he quickly explained "There is not much time to lose, people who were looking for you are close," and then Harry's eyes widened. Of course, he was away for over two weeks and Dumbledore certainly would have noticed "But I will quickly explain as it will do more good to you – wands and staffs are foci to guide and focus magic. Almost all wizards of multiple communities use wands since their magic is not potent enough for a bigger focus, it would only be a hindrance. The small core and wood of the wand cannot handle potent magic – it would overcharge and explode in your face," he 'tsked' "Seen that before."

"But the most powerful wizards of this time, Dumbledore and Dark Lord are using wands?" Harry couldn't help but wonder.

Ollivander nodded "Yes, because they have tremendous magic reserves and core, but have normal magic potency," he explained "Magic quantity does not equal magic potency. To make an example and put it into perspective, wizards with large magic reserves can cast five cutting charms that would equal one cutting charm with potent magic. In a duel, the most logical strategy for those with large reserves would be to wear down those with less, while those with potent magic would try to win by brute force. Wizards with potent magic have usually smaller reserves but they themselves grow as the wizard or witch develops.

Dumbledore and Voldemort have mastered their magic to such degree that they can use residual magic to boost their spells, or for example to concentrate the magic of five spells into one potent spell, but even then wand strains under the pressure. They are extremely powerful wizards, yes, but their power does not come from their magic potency; rather the mastery of their own magic.

You, on the other hand, are very close with the magic being Magik's chosen – your magic potency and your reserves are, dare I say, extremely impressive. Only a staff could deal with your potency," he then got lost in thought "Come to think of it I think I sold another staff some dozen years back... to Alastor Moody, was it?" he then shook his head as if trying to get rid of needless thoughts "Does that cover an explanation?"

Harry could only nod "Quite."

He clapped his hands together again and his face broke into a manic grin "Splendid! Time to make a staff for you then!" he motioned for Harry to come closer "Now, Duke Emrys, close your eyes and feel the magic around and inside you."

Harry did as he was told and he found his core almost instantly. It was like an endless ocean and radiated heat of dozen torches lit in a cold room, but there was also a deep and bone chilling coldness, a glacial breeze among the warmth that made goosebumps run around his body and his face split into a wide smile. The combination of frostiness and heat made him feel content and relaxed. It was just right.

Ollivander looked over his spectacles at Harry and whispered "That's right, Duke Emrys. Marvellous. Now imagine grasping a handful of that magic and guiding it out. Let it be unfurled under your guidance, project it on this whole room."

Harry did as he was told. He felt the magic around him and gauged how big the room was and then he mentally took a strand of magic big enough to fill the entire room. He now understood more what Ollivander said – the room wasn't small yet it only required a small amount of his magic to fill it. When he thought that he had taken enough, he snapped his eyes open and let the magic he collected unfurl in the whole space.

Immediately the magic sprung around him in a wide arc and covered everything in a thin sheet of ice, even particles of magic in the air were not spared and got turned into intricate snowflakes that slowly drifted about and reflected purple and emerald shadow on themselves from deep within. Ollivander's and Harry's breath visibly turned into smoky puffs that escaped their mouths. This tundric beauty didn't radiate any cold, and it was gone in few seconds as fast as it appeared.

They stood there in silence for another moment, both in wonder at what they witnessed, Harry more so than Ollivander.

The old wand maker then snapped his attention back to Harry "That was marvellous and unexpected indeed, Duke Emrys," he paused yet again and regarded Harry "You must always remember, magic comes with ease when the wizard has full faith in themselves and believe in what they do. If you believe in something you want to do, or spell you want to cast, then you will be able to do it with relative ease as you just demonstrated. That was a fully controlled magical projection with added element. I shouldn't have been, but I'm surprised nonetheless that you managed to accomplish it so easily. It takes many years of practice until one can do it to the level you just did. It just demonstrates your belief and faith in your own core and magic," he then grinned "but now, I will require some blood from you."

Harry looked back at Ollivander "Excuse me?"

"Too long to explain, just give me your blood already," Ollivander manically said and Harry actually got scared of him for a second "I'm too giddy and excited to work with the materials your magic has chosen and I can barely contain it!"

That was obvious.

Ollivander presented Harry with a needle and a small empty flask. He then shrugged, if Lily believed in him and said he will be his biggest ally then Harry was ready to take that leap of faith – blood was very precious in wizarding world, after all.

Harry took the offered items and did as Ollivander asked. While blood was steadily trickling into the flask, he asked "What did you mean by magic's chosen materials?"

Ollivander rolled his eyes almost as impressively as Bladenail did "I didn't ask to project your magic just for a show. It had a purpose of selecting all the materials for your focus," seeing Harry's incredulous look he then sarcastically said "What? Don't tell me you expected something along the lines of choosing your materials by waving your hand literally over thousands and thousand of materials?" he snorted "That takes too long. The practice was abandoned centuries, if not ages ago."

Harry nodded in understanding and gave the wand maker half filled flask of his blood.

"Splendid!" Ollivander exclaimed as he took the flask "Now go back upstairs and wait for me. Don't leave the store, please."

"I-"

"Sorry, Duke Emrys, but foci making is a sacrilegious and hard process, especially considering the materials involved, and I cannot be distracted by absolutely nothing," He then started to rudely show Harry out of the workshop "And that ring of yours is distraction enough – I think I got even more blind than I was before. Around 2 hours, enjoy your time - I know I will!"

And with that Harry was shoved outside the workshop with the doors literally banging in his face. Harry was deeply offended of how he was treated but he already knew that Ollivander was very eccentric man. And he will let it slide this time as the old wand maker was actually doing a favour for him.

With nothing better to do than to worry about Dumbledore eventually finding him, he climbed back into the main wand shop and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Well," Harry muttered to himself "Might as well make these two hours productive."

He took one of the books on Occlumency he got from one of his vaults and started reading it.

It was over three hours now and Ollivander still didn't appear from his workshop, but Harry didn't mind much. He finished two books on Occlumency in the first hour and spend he rest of the time practicing and mastering his Occlumency skills. Or more like, re-mastering since the moment he started the practical side he felt like he was only refreshing what he already knew for ages. Must be the knowledge he absorbed, young Emrys mused. After a little bit of experimenting it turned out that his mind was very sharp and he started to create his mental mind scape, sort through memories and create defences.

It was only a start but he was advancing very quickly on it and managed to quickly sort out some of his knowledge. When he opened his eyes he felt mentally fresher and rested, his mind sharper and clearer.

He felt a shift in magic and turned his head just in time to see Ollivander step out of the hidden door behind the counter carrying a small wooden box in his left hand and a beautiful staff in his right.

Ollivander was covered in sweat and was panting badly as if chased by a pack of angry hippogriffs. He sighed "Duke Emrys, these are the hardest and most satisfying foci I've ever made and it was an immense pleasure to craft, and now present them for you."

Harry stood up and marveled at the staff that is about to be his.

It was combination of two woods, dark reddish and very pale yellow. They started together at the bottom as a round end but then each wood separated into their individual one and moved upwards by entwining each other meeting up again in the middle where it was decorated with some carvings that Harry assumed was handle, and then they separated again and Harry saw there was some kind of tiny runes carved into the wood from what Harry assumed was his blood. The woods continued to entwine all the way up until the very tips of each wood turned into tiny forks that held one medium sized black stone.

"Made of elder wood and redwood," Ollivander explained "Elder wood being extremely rare to pick wizards, and even rarer to harvest these days. It was very hard to bend but I managed it by adding second wood that picked you – redwood. The staff houses the cores of Arctic Dragon's crushed teeth, crushed strands of pixie hair freely given during waning crescent moon, and a vampire's heart string taken as a reward for winning the duel and finely crushed used sphinx's large toe. I find the last one quite weird," he muttered and continued as he revered the staff "at the top sits pure black onyx as a focus."

He than handed the staff to Harry and young wizard took it into his hands.

First thing he felt was how extremely light it was, almost as light as his wands. The second feeling was his magic core connecting with the staff, and something 'clicked' in his core. The runes carved in blood glowed deep crimson before settling and on impulse Harry twirled the staff around him and the black onyx released a wave of soft, emerald magic that hummed in the air for a second before dispersing.

"Simply marvellous, complete match!" Ollivander exclaimed and Harry couldn't help but grin. While his previous wand was like a warm comfort in deep winter night, this staff already felt like an extension of himself. He couldn't wait to start practicing spells with it!

"Each wand has overall things that its exemplary good at, like your mother's wand was quite suited for charms. However this staff... I am at loss as to what is its strengths and weaknesses, you will have to find it for yourself. Although, judging by pixie and vampire cores, and the message you had for me... I suggest you experiment with different magic."

Harry relaxed his staff and it snugly rested on his shoulder as he regarded the simple wooden box.

"This," Ollivander said as he opened the box that hid a simple silver ring with same crimson runes "Is a focus ring, crafted individually for you," when asked what a focus ring is Ollivander explained "Weak Russian wizards use rings as their focus instead of wands, and some battlemages use these to supplement their melee choice of weapon" he said "But this ring is more of an ability amplifier. It will allow you to cast simple spells wandlessly and with enough practice, even stronger spells. I know from experience that in some situation's it's not practical to use larger staff for some spell casting, or that some more powerful spells require wandless preparation. Crafting these amplifiers is a common courtesy towards staff users," he smiled and offered the ring to Harry which he then continued to put on his left hand "It's made of silver with a core of Arctic Dragon's crushed teeth."

There was no rush of magic, nothing, apart that the ring comfortably sat on his left hand's pointer finger.

And then Ollivander visibly stiffened "You should go now, Duke Emrys. The flashy beard is approaching."

It took Harry a while to connect flashy beard to Dumbledore and he would've chuckled if not for the severity of the situation "What about payment?"

"Send it with owl. It's three thousand galleons," and with that he vanished behind the counter once more.

That was quite a price increase considering normal wand only cost seven galleons, but Harry understood why. The materials were the very rare ones.

Harry quickly left the store but was too late. Mr Flashy Beard already spotted him and approached in quite impressive speed, his hands holding his robes as not to stumble over them. The dungeon bat of Hogwarts aka Professor Snape was not far behind, matching Dumbledore stride by stride. Though Snape visibly paused when his dark eyes landed on staff bearing wizard, his eyes slightly widening, before he resumed again.

Harry sighed, it's unavoidable now. He put his left hand into the pocket and touched the portkey he acquired earlier that day from Bladenail that will take him to one of his castles.

"Harry, my boy!" Dumbledore exclaimed as the pair finally approached the young Emrys "It is such a relief to finally see you alive and well!" he said, his blue eyes merrily twinkling though Harry saw past that and noticed that his eyes, in fact, were two cold, calculating blue orbs hidden by layers of grandfatherly twinkling.

Deciding to play the ignorant, Harry charmingly smiled and nodded to the pair "Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape. It's a fine evening to meet you two here," he cocked his head to one side feigning confusion "Is there any particular reason you thought I am not alive?"

"I visited the Dursleys and after exchanging some words I found out you magically lashed out at them in spite and then ran away," the old man reprimandedly looked at him through his glasses "I am quite disappointed in you, Harry my boy, using your magic on them because of some petty argument. They are quite distressed over all this and surely are worried about you."

Harry did a very loud mental snort "Well if you used your Legilimency, Headmaster, I'm quite sure you would find out what really happened."

Snape was a bit shocked, but hid it quite quickly before anyone could catch his expression.

Headmaster on the other hand slightly narrowed his eyes, there shouldn't be a possible way Harry could've known that. Unless... but no. It was too early for that to happen.

"Those muggles," Harry spat "Are the worst type. I might not put them in Azkaban for that would be pointless – they would instantly die, but I will make sure they suffer in equal way. Legally, of course."

"Harry, my boy, surely you're over reacting."

"Firstly, Headmaster, it's Mr Potter for you," Harry coolly replied "I don't wish to be one of your boys, Merlin only knows what you do to boys to call them 'your boys'," he could feel Dumbledore's anger flare at the implication even though he kept the calm and happy façade; Snape on the other hand was both amused and shocked "Secondly, I am quite sure I am reacting quite less than my aunt Petunia did when she found me dumped on her doorstep by you in the cold October night."

Dumbledore's twinkle dimmed a bit and now Snape looked really surprised. He wasn't aware where Harry resided and he could remember Lily's vile sister. Snape slightly narrowed his eyes but said nothing, he will make his own investigation.

"Maybe we can discuss where have you been over some tea and perhaps dinner? You must be starving," Dumbledore tried but Harry won't have none of that.

"I've been safe, safer than I've been at the Dursley care. And fed, for once."

"Harry-" "Mr Potter" "-Mr Potter," Dumbledore allowed "I must insist you come with me."

"You have no authority over me here," Harry replied, his fake happy and ignorant attitude gone and replaced by steel ice coldness.

"As your magical guardian-"

"You haven't been my magical guardian for a while, Headmaster," he then smirked "I've been at Gringotts and the goblins confirmed it."

Dumbledore visibly paled and tried to guilt trip him "Your parents would have been disappointed, Mr Potter."

"Perhaps," Harry allowed "But they are dead. Now if you would excuse me, I have to go."

"Where?" Dumbledore automatically asked, ignoring his comment about parents "We cannot possible let you go – we just found you!"

"So you would imprison me? I really wonder what kind of rights do you have to do so, _Headmaster_ ," Harrison Emrys only smirked "As to where I am going - _domus familia_."

With a tugging sensation on his navel and a pop Harry was gone from Diagon Alley and landed straight in the foyer of Emrys castle where he was met by a group of over excited house elves. All the while he was wondering why Snape didn't even once voice his own opinion. They didn't have the best history together so it was surprising and refreshing to see the snarky potion master keeping his mouth shut and not insulting him for once.

* * *

 _\- 2 weeks after-_

It's been a bit over two weeks now and young Duke Harrison Emrys found himself standing on the platform nine and three quarters where the red steam powered train already stood at the attention and welcomed both new and old students. It was still a bit over an hour until it was supposed to depart, allowing Harry plenty of time to find an empty compartment where he could silently sit and go over his Occlumency as well as finish reading the book he started.

The platform was bare of any people so Harry didn't have any troubles approaching and boarding the train with his large, new, multi-compartment trunk, that he acquired earlier that day, magically floating behind him, and his staff's slams echoing throughout the silent station.

It amused Harry that there was no one on the station yet, only the train's engine to eerily fill the deafening silence. But then again, he always came to the platform at the last minute (courtesy of Weasleys) so he hadn't had a chance to see it before the wizarding families amassed.

Harry found the compartment he would like to use, one in the middle since they tended to be bigger, and with a wave of his left hand he levitated his trunk and placed it on the rack. Harry then took a book out and sat down, resting his staff between his legs, the upper part of the large focus resting on his left shoulder.

And within seconds he was immersed in his book.

Over the remaining two weeks he lost himself in academics and unraveling accessible to him knowledge and absorbing every book that was available to him, as well as practicing various new spells, and improving both his staff and wandless casting. It was weird casting with a staff at first, but he figured out some technique on his own and managed to improve. He even wrote to Bladenail once asking if he had any books on staff wielding seeing as their shamans used staffs. He got two books from Bladenail and also an information saying that after meeting Dumbledore in the Diagon Alley, he tried to contact Arrowdent but was denied.

Due to Harry's occlumency he managed to devour books in amazing speed, but it still took some hours to properly comprehend and sort the newly acquired knowledge. The first books he read were from Emrys vault, even though he had difficulty at first because of the olde english, but somehow he managed. He then carried on reading Peverell books and still haven't finished reading through them all.

As for his living arrangements, Emry's castle was half destroyed as a result of passage of time and the elves that lived there didn't have access to finances to repair what was damaged, so Harry had to resettle to another castle. He chose Peverell and at first it was quite creepy to live in Necromancer's castle, but he adjusted. He didn't explore the castles much, rather focusing on getting used to new him, and so he didn't stumble across any portraits of his ancestors.

Harry was also surprised to learn that he had over dozen house elves altogether who were overjoyed to finally have a proper Lord. Harry greeted them all and kindly ordered on bringing the old Emrys castle in order and gave them access to his funds. It would take a long time, but Harry was thinking of maybe contacting the goblins.

He also received letters from his friends, both of them being overly worried of where Harry have been. Though it struck to Harry that Hermione and Ron were his only friends and that was rather sad, so he promised to himself he would start expanding his horizons this year.

After insisting that he was alright and safe, he got an invitation for the World Cup with the Weasleys, which Harry chose to ignore as he had more pressing matters than quidditch. Ron, of course, was insulted. And since Harry subscribed to Daily Prophet he also found out about the Death Eater attack, as well as death mark in the sky and it was quite atrocious that full grown wizards blamed a house elf for the marked sky. They didn't have the magic to do it.

Harry sighed as he closed his Peverell book. Now that he read it he needed to spend at least 10 minutes sorting out through all the information.

"Interesting," he murmured when he was done. Looking out of the window he saw that the station was bustling full of wizards and witches, sending their children away to school. According to the big clock in the station, it was ten minutes until departure. Once again he lost track of time while reading.

There were students passing his compartment, but thankfully Harry cast notice-me-not charm as to not to be disturbed. Only those who truly seek him were able to notice the compartment.

Harry checked the time again and it was now five to.

Four minutes left.

Three.

And now Harry counted down the seconds "Three, two, one," and a massive wave of redheads seemingly appeared from nowhere and hurriedly moved towards the train as one mass. Harry smirked "Right on cue. Late as usual."

He could see all the children saying goodbyes to Mr and Mrs Weasley and board the train just as the last warning signal was blown. Harry even spied Hermione's bushy hair amidst them.

In less than a minute, the compartment doors slid open revealing Ron's lanky figure, and Hermione's bushy hair. At least those are the things Harry noticed first.

"Woah, mate, you look different," Ron exclaimed as he and Hermione entered the compartment and put their trunks in the rack just as the train started moving.

And indeed, Harry did look different. Expensive silky school robes hid his more developed body, though his face also looked more mature, especially now that he lost his glasses. Even his hair looked tamer and fell down on his shoulders in smooth waves. If he was to stand up, then most people would notice he even grew some extra inches.

"A growth spurt, you may call it," Harry replied and flashed them a smile to which Hermione blushed.

While Ron was checking out Harry's obviously expensive looking robe, Hermione took notice of his staff.

"Is that... a staff?" she asked.

Harry smirked and twirled the large focus in his hands "Yup. Broke my wand during summer so I had to get new focus. Ollivander insisted on staff."

Hermione nodded but Harry could see that she will research staffs in more detail as she hasn't ran across them in the past.

"I can't believe you missed Quidditch World Cup, mate. Krum was amazing!" Ron exclaimed and Harry only shrugged.

"What have you been up to, Harry?" Hermione asked "And where have you been? Dumbledore told us that you suddenly disappeared, he said you might be in danger. We were so worried!"

Harry couldn't help but sneer at the mention of Dumbledore "Did our _esteemed_ Headmaster say what 'danger' I am in, exactly?" seeing that no one was answering he continued in cold tone "Thought so. As to what I did – I managed to get away from my abusive relatives and get a safe house to live at. And there I was studying and reading lots of books. About time I sorted my privileges right."

"I'm sure you exaggerate with your relatives..." seeing Harry's angry face expression she quickly shifted the topic as she smiled "I'm glad you started taking your academics seriously, though. What books were you reading? We could compare what we know and share some information? There is this book I read over the summer, and of course, it was ever so interesting-"

"Blimey, Harry, don't tell me you're turning into Hermione?"

Harry laughed and answered "Not quite. I'm not as obsessed as she is," Hermione could only huff in indignation at this.

They remained in the compartment and talked about this and that, though Harry quickly grew annoyed by Ron's jealous stares at his robes, and Hermione's endless pestering and doubt of what he was saying.

The compartment doors slid open again and Harry didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. It was always the same every year – they would board the train, talk a bit, and then get the yearly Malfoy visit, flanked by his two cronies as usual.

Seeing that no taunts were coming, Harry turned around to look at Malfoy's naturally pale face which at the moment was set in the expression of shock.

"Yes, Draco?" Harry purred, receiving weird looks from both of his current companions.

That snapped Draco out of his thought and he couldn't help but ask as he stared at Harry's robe "Is that...?"

"Oh, my new robes?" Harry asked as he brushed off some invisible dust "Yes, finest acromantula silk harvested during moonlight, and dyed with mermaid magic."

"Who did you have to sell to afford such materials?" Draco sneered.

"I don't know about you, Draco, but I didn't sell anything. My family is quite wealthy, you know. It's just about time I used that wealth on myself," Harry honestly replied.

And Draco was surprised, again, for he expected a more usual angry reply, but he continued nevertheless "I see you finally stopped pretending to be poor as the Weasel here."

"It's not pretending when one doesn't honestly know of his own wealth," Harry honestly replied.

Draco blinked "What? You mean, you didn't know of your wealth? Potters are a well off family."

"No one cared to tell me, I had to find it the hard way. Though maybe if you were not such a prat in the past, Draco, you would've been the one to enlighten me."

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron frantically whispered "Talking to him like that? All civilly? He's scum, remember? Son of a death eater!"

"I remember your opinion quite well, Ron," Harry said as he narrowed his eyes "However there is no need to push it on others. I am conversing with heir to an ancient and noble family and having open hostilities with a powerful family is not a good idea."

Draco's eyebrows began to disappear behind his hairline. This was a new Harry Potter, he realised.

Harry turned his emerald orbs back to him and suddenly Draco felt very nervous "I apologise on behalf of my friend here, Heir Malfoy. And please accept my own sincerest apologies of my treatment of you in the past," he tilted his head in apology. While not a full out bow (Emrys does not bow to anyone) it was still formal enough to be acknowledged by an heir of different families.

"Harry, you can't-" Ron was silenced by a wave of Harry's hand that left everyone wide eyed.

"Ignore him," Harry continued "We started off with a wrong foot and back in our first year I didn't realise I insulted you as I didn't know proper wizarding customs seeing as I was raised in a muggle household, never aware of magic," this bit of information shocked Draco even more and now he could actually understand why Potter was not acting as he thought he should have "While I do not expect to be sudden friends, I at least wish to cease the unnecessary hostilities. After all," Harry said as he smirked and offered a handshake subtly showing off his ring "this year promises to be very interesting."

Draco's eyes were almost falling out of their sockets and he took the hand and shakily shook it "A-apology accepted, My Lord. And it would be a pleasure to cease the hostilities and form a truce. Now if you would excuse me," and with a quick bow, Draco Malfoy and his two body guards left.

Harry laughed when the compartment doors slid close. He didn't have any intention of hiding his heritage, there was no point in it, so he wasn't afraid to use it to startle people. Draco was a fine first 'vistim'.

Even though he did so of his own amusement, he still meant all the things that he said. If not friends, then Harry aimed to create lasting allies and contacts while still at Hogwarts. What confused him though was Draco addressing him as his lord. But that's a thought for another time.

Remembering about Ron, he waved his hand again and unsilenced him.

"What was that bloody for?" Ron shouted, almost purple in anger "So casually talking with bloody Malfoy, and then silencing me with a wave of your hand as if swatting away some mere fly?! Acting so pure blood with your fancy robes? Are you one of them now?"

"If you will keep shouting I will silence you again," seeing Ron was about to have another go at him, Harry did what he just promised and silenced Ron with another lazy flick of his wrist.

"I am quite tired of the petty rivalry between Draco and myself," he explained more to Hermione than to Ron "It was fun while it lasted but there is literally no point in continuing it. It's much more beneficial to be at least neutral to each other."

"Why did he call you 'my lord?'" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged and twirled his staff (that was becoming a habit of his) "I honestly don't know."

"Where did you learn to act so pure blood?"

"In books," Harry lied. Most of that came from his 'knowledge' "And it's in my blood so I should start acting properly as to not embarrass my name. Been practicing all summer."

Hermione didn't say anything on that "Wandless magic?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

Harry only shrugged, not really wanted to answer how. Seeing that Ron was getting angrier by the minute, Harry sighed "I will lift the silence charm on him and go for a walk. I am in no mood to listen to his raging."

Before Hermione could answer he swiftly stood up and left and quickly lifted the charm as well as casting another one on the compartment itself so that no one could hear Ron letting his anger out. Poor Hermione.

He wandered the train hallway with no particular destination in mind, buying some sweets from trolley lady as he went.

He was passing one compartment when he heard loud snaps coming from within so he chanced a peek inside. It was the Weasley twins, Seamus, and Dean sitting inside and playing exploding snap. Grinning, he slid the doors open and asked "Mind if crash in for a minute?"

All eyes turned to him and the twins whistled in unison and Seamus exclaimed "Great shaft you've got there, Harry!" to which Harry promptly replied

"What can I say - had a quite nice growth spurt over the summer, I'm glad you checked me out and noticed," and suggestively winked to Seamus to which everyone roared with laughter and Seamus himself blushed scarlet red in embarrassment not expecting such comeback from usually quiet Harry.

"But seriously, Harry," Dean said when they calmed down "What's up with the staff?"

"Lets just say I went into my inheritance, my wand exploded into my face, and Ollivander refused give me anything else but a staff," Harry concluded.

"Sounds just

like Ollivander," both Fred and George said.

"Wanna see a trick?" Harry asked and smirked when he saw everyone nod.

He channelled some magic into the staff and willed it to burn and everyone 'ahh'ed at that. Harry then willed all the magic to gather in the onyx stone, and everyone could see how all the flicking flames travelled across the staff and were absorbed by the black stone leaving it the only thing burning.

Harry tilted his staff a bit and reached out to the stone with his other hand, willing the magic to come out into his palms in the form of concentrated, fiery stream that formed a flicking fireball in Harry's palm. Harry then quickly brought the hand to his mouth and blew while at the same time spreading his arm, resulting in the fireball rapidly changing colour to pale blue as it unfurled into a wide blazing arc, the flames themselves quite unharmful. Harry then raised his hand, and the arc of fire twisted and morphed, and transformed into dozens of tiny, blue flame birds that scattered around and dispersed into the air after some seconds of life.

Obviously, throughout the performance there was a lot of 'aaah's and 'ohh's so Harry was pleased with himself.

"Fancy," one of the boys said.

Harry nodded "Yeah, created this when I was playing around and trying to figure out what I can do with my new toy."

"Ah it was beautiful indeed," dreamy voice said from the compartment doors and everyone turned around and saw a girl with straggly, waist-length, dirty blonde hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. She smiled and said "New possibility begins where the other one ends, My Lord. Now if you'd excuse me, I need to inform certain red head of their wrackspurt infestation," and she merely skipped off.

"And that was..." Harry asked quite confused.

"Ah, that would be Luna Lovegood," Dean supplied and smirked "Or as everyone calls her – _Loony_ Lovegood. She's a year below us."

Harry shot him a disapproving look because of the nickname, but otherwise didn't comment.

"How comes you're not with-

"-our brother dearest and resident bookworm?"

Harry scrunched his face "Lets just say Ron wasn't very pleased with the new me and was very vocal about it."

"I understand you, mate-

"-he inherited his lungs from mum," the twins laughed.

And so Harry decided to stay with these guys for the rest of the train ride as it was more fun than suffer Ron's jealousy and anger. They played some games, told stories of their summer and Harry even demonstrated some more tricks he made on the spot. All around it was an enjoyable train ride and the time passed really quickly – the announcer said they would approach Hogsmeade in about ten minutes.

Harry then stood up and said that he needs to return to his compartment to retrieve his trunk before they stop, but just when he was about to leave the doors slid open revealing Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise Zabini blocking the way.

"I wonder what made Draco so piss scared," Theodore addressed Harry "You're still the same excuse of a wizard, as past three years, some fancy new robes don't change anything."

"Yeah!" Pansy supplemented "Draco's been warning Slytherins not to bother you, saying it's not wise so we came to see what was the deal! Have you bewitched poor Draco?"

Wisely, Blaise didn't say anything but merely observed from behind the two main speakers. Unlike them, he acted as a true Slytherin and didn't headbut some problem when there was one, that was more Gryffindor way.

"Nott, Parkinson," Harry acknowledged. Sensing that people behind him were standing up, he just raised his hand and said "There is no need guys. I can handle this low life."

The Slytherins, apart from Blaise, drew their wands as their nostrils flared in anger and shouted "We will show you, 'low life'! Seems you haven't properly been cursed for quite some time!"

Harry entertained the thought that maybe they were really badly educated, or maybe the difference between a staff and a wand was not common knowledge. Though he liked the first idea better.

"Well," Harry said and before either of the Slytherins could cast a spell, Harry quickly flicked his left wrist and disarmed the surprised Pansy, before tilting his staff towards Theodore and casting the weakest _Depulso_ he could manage and sent the Slytherin boy flying backwards and then disarming him too. Harry then followed up by swiping the staff in an arc and cast a simultaneous double _Petrificus Totalus_ on both offenders. The fight was over before it could even properly begin and Harry was quite disappointed – he yearned for a proper duel that would make his blood boil with adrenalin "Well," he said again not impressed.

He then looked at Blaise and said "Zabini, if you would be so kind to deliver these two," he poked Pansy and Theodore with his staff "To where they should be."

Blaise nodded, accepted their wands that was offered, and silently levitated the both bind teens away from the place.

"You see," he then addressed the guys in compartment "Nothing to worry about."

He grinned and left before anyone could say anything.

When he entered his compartment he was happy to find that Ron more or less has calmed down, even though he still shot Harry not so nice looks. Hermione was no better and was giving him weird, almost disapproving glances. Thankfully, Harry was able to ignore that.

The train stopped and all the students swiftly left the train, all eager to get into the castle as it was quite chilly in the early Scottish autumn evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in a carriage, joined by Seamus and Dean.

The young Emrys watched as they approached the castle closer and closer, and with each meter he could feel Hogwarts' magic wash over him in stronger and stronger waves, drowning him in warmth and making him feel welcome. Echos of magic were singing in his ears, music of ancient past reverberating deep within his core as he accepted Hogwarts into his soul.

Yes, this was his real home and always will be. Harry couldn't help but grin like a madman, ignoring all the concerned looks he was getting. It was a euphoric feeling to be drowned in so much sentient magic that one should start wondering if, perhaps, there was another being within his soul.

Nevertheless, he now had more incentive to explore the castle to its fullest – he needed a space to train and practice. And there is definitely going to be fun around here because of one very interesting tournament that only few were privy to.

Harry couldn't wait to show off and prove himself to be more than just a shadow of his mother's sacrifice.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, and big thanks to every single view, follow, favourite. and review! Sorry for later update - I was quite busy during the week but I made it extra long this time!**

 **Looking for beta reader!**

 **A couple of things I'd like to say - I was pointed out that I have large grammatical mistakes and I miss out tenses, and articles and other words, or use words that doesn't fit the sentence and that it might be pain in the eyes to read and the errors kind of stops from enjoying the story. And I fully acknowledge that and I apologise for the eye sore! English is my third language so I believe it's somewhat forgivable if it's not perfect, however I know how it is to read a badly written story. IMPORTANT - and that's exactly why if anyone is willing to be my beta and has experiencing with betaing stories, and has good knowledge what too look for when rectifying the mistakes then please PM me! I would love to have someone who would make the story even more visually enjoyable.**

 **And second thing - some people asked / suggested pairings. Originally, when I first thought of the story, I didn't plan Harry to be any in any kind of romantic relationships because of reasons (one of them being that I think I'm not too great writing romance), one of them being that it's not the focus of the story. But after some contemplation I thought that, in fact, Harry could be with someone romantically though I am not disclosing as to who and still don't know if that's a good idea. I will put on a poll after the next chapter giving two choices without spoiling anything, so I'll see what happens then.**

 **And now, please enjoy this extra long chapter!**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 7

Setting foot into the Hogwarts was also an unforgettable experience for Harry. When he stepped past the grand gates of the renowned wizarding school, the magic cried out in joy and everyone could hear a reverberating noise surrounding them, making them look around and try to pinpoint the origin of the noise. Waves of magic rolled on Harry welcoming him in its tight embrace, making his own magic respond in content. He felt a heavy burden settle on his core and his mood suddenly rose to a maximum making his face split in two by his wide grin – Hogwarts just accepted him and the burden on his core must be the wards.

"What was that?" Neville asked from behind the group, making Ron jump in surprise "I think I heard something in the distance."

"Bloody hell, Neville!" Ron exclaimed "Don't sneak up like that!"

Neville just lowered his head and mumbled apologies and Harry couldn't help but shake his head – Neville was still shy as ever. When everyone finally calmed down and resumed walking towards the Great Hall, Harry asked "How was your summer, Neville?"

Neville shrugged "It was alright, I guess. Me and gran went to the world cup, it was amazing up until those Death Eaters showed up and ruined everything. I did some studying too in hopes of getting better at spell casting but I don't know if it's gonna be any better."

"As if studying is gonna do any good," Draco said nearby, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation "No amount of studying can make squibs any stronger." Neville furiously blushed and lowered his head in shame even more.

Harry narrowed his eyes and shot Draco very disapproving glare. Seeing his look, Draco visibly paled and quickly disappeared between the fellow Slytherins before Harry could retort.

"I really don't understand what his issues are," Hermione said.

"Don't mind him, he will come around," Harry tried to comfort Neville. Sensing that Ron was about to add his own two knuts, he quickly shifted the conversation "What's that plant in your arms?"

Neville visibly brightened at the question and gushed "Oh that's a rare magical plant I managed to grow in my greenhouse back home. It's called Tacus Praeligus and it's really hard to grow as it needs completely silent surroundings during certain stages of growth," he explained "When properly grown and harvested, it can be used to create potions that cures or removes silencing effects, or can be used to brew poison that renders the voice of a human inactive, though it has different effects on other creatures. I actually bought a small book about rare plants today and spent most of the train ride reading it."

Harry nodded "Interesting. I did wonder where were you, turns out you were just reading. I assume the plant has passed the silence stage?"

"Yeah," Neville smiled in gratitude that someone actually talked and wondered about his hobby "The silence stage is only the first two months and the last two months, then it can be resettled wherever so I took it with me as it needs constant supervision and soil adjustments. It's gonna be ready to harvest by the end of the next summer."

Harry just nodded in response as students entered the majestic great hall and took the sets at their house tables. There was a lot of noise in the air, some students catching up and sharing stories of the summer, others expressing their excitement of the new school year, while some people were even taking bets and trying to guess who the new DADA professor is going to be.

The whole great hall went silent when the doors opened once again by Professor McGonagall who lead a bunch of scared and excited first years towards the front of the hall where the famous Sorting Hat sat on the three legged stool. The Hat then started to sing its welcoming song, which then followed by a quite boring sorting ceremony that dragged on, but the students of each house still applauded and welcomed the new house mates with vigour.

Just when the last student was sorted, Harry felt an incredible unease creep up in his core making his eyes narrow. At the same time clouds gathered on the enhanced ceiling of the great hall and a thunderous lightning quickly followed. It was bizarre since the ceiling was supposed to reflect the skies outside and it was clear and starry just moments before.

There was a loud bang from behind the staff table and it revealed to be huge doors snapping open by what most would think a scary man. The light from the artificial lightning illuminated some of his features - grizzled dark grey hair sat on top of a scarred face that seemed to be roughly carved from the wood. His eyes only added on to his creepy features – one was small and dark while the other was vivid, electric blue magical eye that moved around independently from his normal eye. He was donned in travelling outfit with thick, leather coat and carried with him what Harry recognised as a staff.

The stranger brandished his wand and cast an unknown, non-verbal spell making a long light purple stream escape his wand and connect with the enhanced ceiling, immediately calming it and returning it to the previous state. He then looked around, his magical eye focusing on Harry for a second, before Dumbledore addressed him.

"Alastor, my friend, it's good that you finally decided to join us," he greeted.

The now identified Alastor replied and his voice sounded more like a growl "Had some business to take care of, got delayed."

Dumbledore only smiled and then turned to the whole student body and addressed them "Dear students, please welcome your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor Moody."

A weak clapping filled the air, but Alastor was not bothered by not so warm welcome. He just took a seat next to Severus Snape and waited for what would happen next.

Dumbledore addressed the crowd once again "Now that the sorting has been done and the new professor introduced, please dig in!" and with a clap food appeared on the tables and the excited chatting resumed in full blast, most of them discussing the new professor.

"That's Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody," Ron said as he shoved unhealthy amounts of food on his plate making Harry and everyone else around him frown in disgust "My dad told us about him. He's been a renowned auror during the first wizarding war, captured many Death Eaters but apparently he retired."

"The classes this year promises to be interesting – he seems more capable teacher than any we had before," Dean supplied.

Seamus joined the conversation as well "Professor Lupin was cool."

"But he was a werewolf," Dean replied.

"And?" Seamus retorted "Still a cool teacher."

"And Professor Lupin was the best we had in three years," Hermione added "I wonder if we gonna be taught some duelling technique this year. I should read up on it beforehand!"

Neville mumbled "He seems scary."

To which everyone laughed, though Harry ignored most of the conversation that followed. The castle seemed distraught but Harry couldn't pinpoint the cause of it, so he just looked at the staff table again.

All of the teachers seemed relaxed and immersed into their own conversations though he noticed that both Snape, Moody, and Dumbledore were looking at him from time to time. When his eyes locked with Dumbledore's he could feel a faint legilimency brush on his mental defences, but it was so gentle and light that if Harry wasn't fully aware of his own mind then he could've missed it. The slight pressure retracted from his mind almost immediately and Harry saw Dumbledore frown slightly before it was quickly replaced by a smile. The Headmaster engaged McGonagall in a conversation and seemingly lost interest in Harry, though the young Emrys knew better.

Then his eyes locked with Snape's and this time the legilimency attack was blunt and to the point. If Harry didn't have occlumency shields up then he wouldn't even know that Snape entered his mind. Harry dangerously narrowed his eyes – if Snape so blatantly invaded his mind with such force implies that he had done so before knowing that Harry didn't have any defences. After all, it was a common practice for the legilimens to subtly test for any opposition before making a move. Harry grabbed Snape's magic in his mind, laced it with his own and roughly shoved it out with a clear warning of 'Stay out!'. The best part was that Snape clearly didn't expect this as his head reeled back as if struck by an unseen force.

Harry was very satisfied with himself when he saw usual stoic Snape look at him with wide, shocked eyes clearly not expecting Harry to know occlumency or legilimency. It left Harry to wonder, however, how many times in the past Snape has done it to him, or worse – other students. And what about other teachers? Harry also noticed that Moody's magical eye was focused on him throughout the entire night.

Dinner was quickly replaced by desert and before long, the welcoming feast was drawing to a close. When all the plates and food disappeared, Dumbledore stood up and addressed the student body and at once the great hall fell silent.

"Now that all of us are fed and watered, it's time for the big announcements," he smiled "I am honoured to announce that this year Hogwarts will house the biggest event in a century – The Triwizard Tournament!" and at once excited whispers broke in the whole hall "It is a tournament where three students are picked, one from each of the participating schools. They then compete through three different but dangerous tasks and are awarded points at the end of each. The winner is the one who accumulates the most points at the end of the third task," here Dumbledore paused for dramatic effect, taking in all the eager and excited student faces as he stood next to a tall box shaped container brought there by Filch while he was talking "The winner achieves eternal glory and recognition as well as one hundred thousand galleon prize money," Harry noticed the greed in Ron's eyes and completely didn't like it though he could understand it – for a poor family like Weasleys that's like a whole fortune though He knew that if Ron had that money he would've only spent it on himself.

Dumbledore continued as he smiled even wider at students' faces "Because of this tournament Hogwarts will open its big gates on October for a large group of students from both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons who will stay here for the reminder of the school year."

"No way!" Ron exclaimed and everyone looked at him "Viktor Krum might be with them!"

Everyone rolled their eyes because they knew of his celebrity crush on Krum since the world cup.

Dumbledore then drew his wand and for some reason Harry couldn't draw his eyes away from the intricate wand. He desperately wanted to snatch it away for himself and young Emrys was very befuddled as to why he was having such reaction to Headmaster's magic focus.

Dumbledore waved his wand and the box shaped container started to melt away revealing a huge goblet on a podium within it. When the last of the box disappeared, a blue flame roared to life which floating inside the goblet and all the floating candles in the great hall also took on a blue hue.

"This," the Headmaster said "is a Goblet of Fire. Each participant will write their full name and school on a piece of paper, and throw it in the goblet which will stand here until 31st October. On the day of Halloween it will pick three participants," he then eyed all the students once again and said in a grave tone "However, because of how dangerous the tournament is, I will be drawing an age restriction circle around the goblet preventing anyone who is not of age to participate," loud groans and whining from younger students followed that statement "And quidditch is also cancelled for this year due to the tournament," even more shocked and incredulous cries followed and Dumbledore had to actually shout through the noise "And this concludes the welcoming feast. Prefects, escort students to dormitories. Everyone have a good night and good luck in the coming lessons. Goodnight."

Harry shook his head at the outraged cries of his fellow students. If he wouldn't have lost interest in quidditch then he would have been among them. As the group of Gryffindors made their way towards their dormitories, Harry noticed that portraits would point at him and say "It's him!" and then begin a conversation in hushed whispers between themselves. Some portraits noticed that Harry was looking straight at them and they quickly bowed in response.

Other students also saw portraits' weird behaviour but Hermione was the only one who asked Harry what it was about. She only got a shrug in reply and the bushy girl narrowed his eyes not believing the 'I-don't-know' shrug. Harry on the other hand was getting more and more annoyed by Hermione's need to know everything and the way she showed her annoyance when she didn't get an adequate answer.

They finally reached The Fat Lady and after muttering the password the portrait swung open and allowed the students to pass into the dormitories.

Before everyone departed to their rooms for the night, Harry addressed the whole house.

"Guys, if I could have a moment of your time please?" Harry called out and attracted the attention of the whole house who curiously regarded him. After all it wasn't every day the famous Harry Potter did a speech.

"What's up, Harry?" Katie Bell, the Gryffindor quidditch chaser, asked when everyone were looking at the young wizard.

"I just wanted you all know so it wouldn't come out as a nasty surprise," Harry began "I am going to enter my name into the tournament."

"But you're not of age!" Ron immediately said "There is no way you could enter. And why you? Need even more glory and gold?"

Harry frowned. He didn't think Ron would be the first to ask that and he couldn't believe the redhead actually said that. It seems their friendship was not as genuine as he initially believed "Lets start with a fact I am officially emancipated and am considered an adult -someone who is of age- by law and magic so putting my name into the goblet is no problem. And why me? I do not need even more glory as you say, Ron, but I want to make a name for myself with my own hands and this is a great way to start. Everyone knows me as Boy-Who-Lived but that fame is all thanks to my mother, who sacrificed herself, and a lot of speculation. I want my fame to be based on facts that people saw for themselves."

"But it's incredibly dangerous, Harry," Hermione was next to doubt him "You only started fourth year and you can't honestly compete with other 17 year olds who are more experienced than you and know more spells and have more knowledge."

"So you call me dumb and weak?" Harry asked and narrowed his eyes.

"Well- no! I- I just," Hermione stammered but Harry cut her off.

"Do I need to remind you that in first year I faced Voldemort," everyone flinched at the name "who possessed Quirrell. I protected the Philosopher Stone from his hands and came out alive to tell the tale. Or how about in second year, I faced off a fifty foot, living basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets as well as a younger version of Voldemort while protecting Ginny and defeated both?" he glared at Hermione and everyone could feel the air becoming colder in the room despite the blazing fire in the fireplace "Or last year where I faced off hundreds of dementors in the Forbidden Forest and managed to drive them away while protecting an innocent soul? Every year so far I've been blindly exposed to danger but this time I am making a choice of my own."

An excited whispering filled the air as Harry glared at Hermione and Ron, until it was broken by Seamus' question "So all those things are true? I- We thought those were only stories made up by your fans or something."

"Everything I just said is true," Harry said "And I am even ready to do the magic oath saying it's all true if people still don't believe me. You can all ask Ginny about the second year since it was her I was rescuing and she was there."

Everyone looked at Ginny and she timidly said "It's true. While I was unconscious for most of the time I saw a giant, fresh basilisk corpse when I woke up."

"There is no need for magical oath," Angelina said "But if you truly fought hundred dementors then prove it by producing a fully corporeal patronus."

A murmur of agreement followed and Harry replied with "Very well."

The young Emrys focused, Patronus was some of the spells he hadn't had the chance of practicing since his rebirth but he had faith in his magic and believed that he will succeed in producing corporeal patronus again.

He gripped his staff tighter and focused his magic – immediately everyone could feel magical tension build up in the air as Harry still haven't learned how to control it when he was casting spells.

Harry recalled the happiest moments he had so far– learning of his ancestry, getting rid of his scars, getting his own home, the feeling of his magic, knowing that someone of his family was alive, and most importantly Hogwarts wholeheartedly accepting him.

" _Expecto Patronum!_ " Harry bellowed and lifted his staff. At once a white mist escaped the black onyx of the staff and with a sudden roar it expanded and transformed into a full grown dragon of unknown species that occupied the whole room with its wings folded. The rush of magic was so unexpected that everyone was thrown off their feet as the dragon roared once more.

Harry was as shocked as everyone else for he didn't expect that his patronus would change shape and that it would be of this magnitude. And unlike the stag that he produced at the end of last year, this dragon wasn't just a white glowing apparition. The dragon was glowing, yes, but you could make out every single detail of its scales and leathery wings, it's slitted ghostly eyes that were looking for danger, and the sharp claws that were ready to tear any dementor to pieces. The rebirth must have triggered the change, Harry thought.

Sensing no danger, the dragon turned around and faced Harry before nodding and dissolving into a white mist that evaporated in the air.

There was a moment of silence before students started to get up. The twins were the first to break the silence

"That was completely-

Utterly-

Undeniably-

Amazing, Harry!" they chorused.

"Yeah," Dean breathed "It was... wow..."

"If there is anyone in Gryffindor who is worthy of entering the tournament then it would be you, Harry," Angelina finally said and everyone nodded and agreed that Harry was undeniably powerful especially now knowing that all of those stories were actually true "I can't produce even normal Patronus mist!"

"Then I will get your full support in this?" Harry asked and was very glad and relieved when everyone nodded.

Ron, obviously, was not happy and stormed up into the fourth year dorms and Harry couldn't understand why Ron suddenly got so jealous. Was Harry too blind to see it before, or it's a new thing? Either way young wizard found out that he didn't really care. He will create new friendships.

* * *

On the next day Harry woke up quite early – the sun was still mostly behind the horizon but it was slowly rising and painting the skies deep orange. Harry laid there in his bed amongst the snores of his fellow dorm mates and despite the sound he enjoyed the moment of sunrise.

Eventually he got up, did all of his morning business, donned his best school robe and left the common rooms to explore. Breakfast wasn't served until later and he didn't feel particularly hungry to seek out the kitchens. So he chose to walk around the castle to find a suitable room where he could practice and experiment with magic without prying eyes. He went through the school's corridors accompanied with his staff's hits echoing in the empty hallways. It was still the dark part of the morning but Harry felt relaxed.

Harry didn't know where he ended up now but all the classrooms he came across were either too small or too packed with trash. Besides, classroom was not the most optional place to practice magic at because anyone could come across it and it would take too much time and effort to set up good and sturdy wards.

Eventually he got bored of looking and approached the nearest portrait of a young man in what seemed his twenties, holding a skull and a wand. The portrait was called 'Unravelling The Mysteries Of Death'.

As Harry approached the portrait, the man acknowledged him by bowing and greeting him with a "My lord, what can I help you with today?"

"Hello. I assume all the portraits know of my ownership of Hogwarts?" Harry finally asked.

To which the man nodded "Yes. All the portraits knew once you stepped into the castle. The ghosts know as well, though they pretend to be ignorant until you call on them."

Harry nodded "I would love if you'd do the same. Kind of strange to remain ignorant to other students when all the portraits acknowledge me."

"Of course, I will relay the message."

"Also, can I ask another favour?" after receiving another 'of course', Harry finally voiced the reason why he approached the portrait "Do you know of any place or room which is big enough to practice and experiment with magic and where it would also be very easy to bring stuff in, and which is also really hard to find and is mostly unknown?"

The portrait thought for a while and then shook his head "I do not know of such a room, but I will relay the message to the other portraits and see if they know of one. I will inform you when we have found something."

Harry thanked the portrait and after another bow, the man left his canvas to tell the message to the other portraits.

Harry checked the time by wandless Tempus and he still had some time until the breakfast so he just entered the nearest classroom that looked abandoned in order to get at least some magic work out done.

Reading Emrys journals and Peverell books, as well as gaining more and more of horcrux's knowledge is an eye opener about all things concerning magic. Turns out magic is like a muscle and the more you use it the more it will grow and the more control you will have over it. The ancient pages also contained various magic exercises a wizard can do. Harry's favourite one was the one utilising transfiguration – the wizard would try to maintain a chain of transfigurations by non stoppingly transfiguring an object back and forth and when it becomes easy then the wizard would add more objects to transfigure at the same time. Not only it's a magic exercise, but also focus exercise as transfiguration is one of the hardest magic branches that required focus and detail. To make it even more difficult wizard could transfigure the object into a different thing with every transfiguration. That way it also trained mind sharpness and imagination. At the moment Harry could do so with three objects, albeit slowly. The young wizard also incorporated some physical workout as he found out that his magic hummed in content when he did push ups or press ups or laps which left him in a good mood afterwards.

As Harry started on with his routine, he recalled what else he learnt from Emrys and Peverell books. Emrys lived very long ago and the magic back then wasn't as developed as it is now, but it was stronger. He learnt that all the strongest spells were cast through drawing and preparing runic circles as they could channel more magic than a staff or a wand could. Runes were also the basis for majority of spells and they were used in spell creation. Runes translated meaning into power, and the circles allowed that power to manifest into existence as a controllable force. But the practice was abandoned after some centuries because drawing runic circles during combat was not practical and too slow, but Emrys stressed that the most powerful magic came from the runic circles. Same could be found in the Peverell books – all the rituals, including necromantic ones, and the strongest spells were done by using runic circles.

After reading all those books and studying all the diagrams and runic circles used by both Emrys and Peverells, Harry was determined to find a more practical way to use them but he was honestly stuck – he didn't have any materials on him to draw runes, and he knew that actually drawing one in the middle of a battle is not practical unless he could both fight and draw. The notion of powerful spells, fancy looking circles, and the fact it was Emrys' legacy really made Harry to desire to be able to accomplish same or at least similar magic.

He heard some clapping behind him whilst he was doing his transfiguration exercise and he was so submerged in his thoughts and so focused on the exercise that he got startled from the sound as he didn't feel or hear anyone approach. On reflex he spun around and shot a burst of concentrated magic from his staff that was swiftly blocked by Professor McGonagall even if she staggered a bit from the force.

Realising it was a professor, Harry quickly apologised "Sorry, Professor. I didn't hear or feel you enter." And that is exactly why he wanted a place where no one could disturb him.

"Not many can hear or feel my presence when they are focused on something due to my animagus form," McGonagall said as she hid her wand from view "But I must applaud you for your skill in transfiguration. I know of the exercise you were doing and it is quite advanced – usually done by those who have deeper understanding and knowledge of the art and those who were born with a talent for transfiguration," she paused as she regarded Harry with her lips pressed into thin line, her expression stern "So I must ask you, Mr Potter - either you were slacking in my class in the past, or you had talented teachers over the summer. Which one?"

"Actually neither, Professor," Harry honestly replied as he turned all the object back to their original form with a wave of a hand which only made McGonagall's eyebrows rise "There was always something lacking in your explanation in class, and I didn't have the right mindset to dedicate myself to studying. And over the summer I was doing self-study and practised a lot so my magic has improved, as you can see."

"I see," McGonagall replied and after a moment of though she said "I have a proposal to you – If you pass my test now, then you will be freed from my transfiguration lessons for this year. Reason being that the lessons will only be a waste of your time and I, personally, hate wasting time."

Harry was surprised by the offer, but he agreed none the less. After half an hour of pure practical test in which McGonagall tirelessly made him transfigure various objects using different techniques, the cat animagus finally told Harry to stop.

"Quite impressive on how much you managed to improve over the summer," she said "I free you from my lessons for this year, however you only demonstrated practical knowledge so I will expect you to hand in the same theory homework that your classmates do, understood?"

"Crystal clear, Professor," Harry said grinning as he wiped some sweat off his brow. It was quite a hard test.

"Good," Professor said but then her features softened "Mr Potter– Harry, Professor Dumbledore made us all worried about you during the summer. Are you alright?"

Not expecting the question it took a while for Harry to honestly reply. He liked McGonagall despite the fact that she not always took his side "I am fine Professor McGonagall. In fact, I feel ways better than I've felt in my 14 years."

The old professor smiled "I'm glad to hear that. I see you had some changes, both magical and physical, and I am happy that they did good to you. But I must go now," she nodded and made a way for the door but Harry stopped her with a question.

"How did you know I am here, Professor?"

"I didn't," came the reply "I need very little sleep so I tend to take walks in early mornings and I sometimes come and see Carlos. I heard some commotion here so I went to investigate."

"Carlos?"

"The portrait of a man with a skull and a wand," McGonagall said to which Harry could only reply with 'oh' "He was Hogwarts' transfiguration master and famous philosopher some centuries ago," she quickly checked her time with tempus "There's roughly an hour until breakfast. Have a good day, Mr Potter," and with that she left.

Quite happy with the outcome of the first morning back, Harry left the room shortly after as well.

* * *

It was already an hour into the breakfast when Harry finally entered the great hall. There were more people in there than Harry expected so early on the first day back, but he only shrugged and sat at Gryffindor table amongst his classmates.

After exchange of good mornings, Harry started putting some eggs and sausages on his plate and Hermione immediately asked "Where were you, Harry? You weren't in the common rooms and boys said you weren't in the bedrooms either."

"I was taking an early walk," he simply replied and then immediately followed up with a question before Hermione could ask something else "How comes you are all up so early? I expected you all to lie in."

"It's the first day back and with the tournament announcement and your display yesterday evening I was a bit too excited to sleep 'till late," Seamus said and Dean agreed as he added his own two knuts.

"And we didn't want to annoy McGonagall so early in the year yet by not being here when she gives out the class schedules."

Harry nodded in understanding "And I assume you didn't manage to wake up Ron?"

The boys shook their heads and Neville then informed Harry that Ron said it's only the first day back so it's highly unlikely that they will have any classes and he's gonna pick up the schedules some other time. So he remained in bed by choice, not because no one could wake him up, and Harry could only shake his head at that.

After most people have eaten and even louder chatter filled the great hall, head of houses started to give out their schedules.

Harry smirked as he got his – there actually were lessons today - transfiguration starting at 12, then free period, and DADA at 16. If no one would wake up Ron, then he is going to be late for the first lesson of the year.

After McGonagall finished giving out the schedules to all Gryffindors, she approached Harry and said "Mr Potter, despite what I said this morning I would like you to attend this one lesson as my assistant and help with practical demonstration."

Harry didn't expect that at all but he agreed to come and help. McGonagall replied with a thin smile a nod before moving on. Hermione on the other hand was very shocked and even a bit angry that the Professor didn't pick her for assistance seeing as she was the smartest student around here. The bushy girl caught on what the cat animagus said and quickly asked Harry "What did she say to you? And I thought you were going for a walk?"

"Give him a break," Neville spoke up but Hermione only glared at the shy boy who quickly retreated back to his shell.

"I did go for a walk," Harry began "But I ran into Professor McGonagall and she excused me from this year's transfiguration lessons as I demonstrated good practical aptitude with transfiguration. However, I will still need to do the same theory homework she will give you guys."

Many people expressed how lucky he was to get a free lesson, however it seems the green monster envy overtook Hermione "Did you cheat?"

"Excuse me?" Harry incredulously asked.

"Did you cheat to get free from the lessons?" she repeated "I've seen you cast spells, Harry, you've never been too good so I hardly believe you managed to impress the Professor."

Suddenly the air grew thick and very cold with magic as Harry glared at Hermione with his burning emerald eyes and the whole table grew quiet under the pressure. Harry hated to be called a cheater, it remind him of his time at the Dursleys when he was accused of cheating when he got better grades than Dudley.

"You were supposed to be the brightest witch around here, Granger, but it seems not," he icily said to the bushy girl whose eyes began to widen "It's almost impossible to fake or cheat during practical demonstration of magic, especially when the one assessing has a mastery in transfiguration. You will soon learn that book smarts won't get you far."

And with that he stood and left the great hall. He still had a bit less than two hours to spare before he had to be in the classroom.

He really couldn't understand what was up with Ron and Hermione. Well Ron was easy – he was very jealous of Harry's wealth and fame, it seems, and anything that he didn't agree with or if he didn't get something he wants would put the red head into a fit. And that's only gonna be hindrance for Harry, he didn't need jealous friends. But he still couldn't figure out what was up with Hermione. It also seemed like jealousy, but of what?

As he was passing the third floor, his feet mindlessly taking him forward with no set destination in mind, someone called out to him "My lord!"

Harry turned around to see Gryffindor ghost, Sir Nicholas, gliding towards him from Merlin knows where.

"Hello, Nick!" Harry greeted "And please, why everyone insists on calling me a lord?" It was very unusual for Harry even if he found he quite liked it. He was not a simple 'just Harry' anymore.

The ghost just shrugged "You are owner of the castle and I can't imagine calling you anything but a Lord. And neither can anyone else," he informed the teen "However that is not why I sought you out. I learnt that you're looking for a room that would suit some of your needs?" Harry nodded "It has been found. Go to the seventh floor and seek out the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. He will tell you more."

Harry grinned and took off "Thanks, Nick!"

"Any time, my lord!"

* * *

Harry currently made his way down to transfiguration classroom with good mood. The room that the portraits found was called Come and Go room, or just Room of the Requirements and it was brilliant! It changed according to the needs of a user, and could provide him with any item he needed, be it potion ingredients, dummies, or books, or items to transfigure. He couldn't test the secrecy of the room, but he believed the room will suffice as not many went to the seventh floor.

Harry noticed there wasn't anyone around the classroom yet, but that was understandable as he was fifteen minutes early. He knocked on the doors and entered into the spacious but empty classroom. McGonagall already sat at her teacher desk in the front of the class, and Harry noticed there was another comfortably looking chair next to the desk and the young wizard assumed it was for him.

"Hello, Professor."

"Mr Potter," the stern witch nodded and motioned for the empty seat next to her "I'm glad you came. Is everything alright between you and Ms Granger, if I may ask?"

Harry contemplated if he should say anything, but since he liked the Professor and she actually did a huge favour for him, he shared his thoughts "I do not know. She's been acting strange since the train ride when I showed up with my changes. She even accused me of cheating when I told about our talk this morning."

McGonagall nodded and looked at Harry "I see. Ms Granger is very hard working person, but she has insecurities, if I may say so. She seeks to prove to everyone that she is the best and the wisest, not realising that her actions also push people away. I believe she became extremely jealous because I asked of your assistance and not her, when in her mind she is 'the only suitable choice' and it might even anger her that someone she believes is sub par on her got a pass from the lessons where she works hard at."

And Harry finally understood – it was just another example of jealousy and Harry could smack his head for not seeing it earlier. Hermione was jealous of how easily Harry could use magic now, especially after that display on the train after wandlessly silencing Ron. Harry shook his head, his two best friends turned out to be jealous pricks and if Harry guessed right, then they were only friends with him because of Harry's fame. Isn't it grand to be Boy-Who-Lived's best mate, or enjoy to be under his protection from possible bullies while at the same time being much better than the celebrity himself?

McGonagall checked time and said "The students will come any minute now. Now, Mr Potter, as you've noticed during my impromptu test, most of the transfiguration I asked you to do was object to animal and back, but I assume you are also capable of chain transfiguration from what I observed," Harry nodded "Do you know how to control the transfigured animals?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied as that was very easy question "You would give the order you want the animal to do in the moment of transfiguration as it is impossible to issue other orders after the transfiguration because you cannot impose your will on something that was an inanimate object without will, thoughts, or soul. There is a spell that allows it, but it's difficult and has a long incantation so it's not practical. You also have to maintain a constant focus on the object to keep the magic intact otherwise it will only disperse and the object will reverse transfigure. The only known way to control magically created beings is through direct conjuration or summoning."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the mention of summoning as it was generally unknown art of magic and was considered dark by the Ministry but she chose to ignore it for now "Very good, Mr Potter, 5 points to Gryffindor. The demonstration I talked of was a short duel using only transfiguration."

Before Harry could express his shock, the classroom doors swung open and the students started to enter and fill the room while shooting curious glances to Harry. Those who knew why he was next to the Professor grinned, though Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron were glaring and Harry was actually surprised that Ron woke up in time. Or maybe someone convinced him to leave the bed. Slytherins, on the other side, were quite less obvious about their curiosity but they still shot Harry some glances.

"Good day, students, and welcome to the first Transfiguration lesson of the year," McGonagall greeted and was welcomed with students' greetings as well "This year we are taking a big step in transfiguration – in the past three years we looked at inanimate object to object, and animal to object transfiguration, but this year we will finally start with inanimate object to animal transfigurations, and practicing transforming bigger objects into smaller ones, as well as looking into practical implementation of this art. And as I have done on my yearly first lessons before, I would like to demonstrate some of these things. Luckily, Mr Potter here agreed to help me out and we are going to have a small, friendly duel using only transfiguration."

Excited murmur filled the classroom because finally they are going to be demonstrated and taught something they wondered for a long while – mainly the practical implementation of the transfiguration. Though they also wondered why it was Harry Potter who got picked and not some more experienced upper year. Was it another blatant show of favouritism?

With a wave of her wand McGonagall scattered around the chair, desk, books, cupboards, and the chalk board that was at the front of the class and Harry assumed those are going to be things to transfigure. However before they could proceed Hermione raised her hand in her usual, impatient 'pick me, pick me' way.

"Yes, Ms Granger?" McGonagall asked and all the eyes turned to the bushy girl who blushed at the attention.

"Why exactly did you pick Harry?" she asked "Surely there are more, uh..." Hermione suddenly got embarrassed and Harry almost couldn't believe she actually asked that in front of everyone despite it being a good question.

"Suited for the role for the demonstration?" McGonagall finished to which Hermione nodded "Firstly, I picked Harry to confirm that my earlier judgement of his skill was correct. Secondly, all the upper years are in their first lessons at the moment or busy preparing for the lessons," and then she pressed her lips into a thin line "And do you doubt my choice, Ms Granger?"

"N-No," Hermione stammered "I just..."

"Well if you're so eager to prove yourself too, Ms Granger, then by all means come forward and demonstrate it in a duel," McGonagall offered and looked at Harry "If Mr Potter doesn't mind that his spot is stolen?"

"Not at all," Harry grinned. Hermione is about to be shown up and though from one point of view it was sad to think that way of someone he considered a friend, but on the other hand he got tired of her and Ron's jealousy and it wasn't even the end of the second day.

"Of course," Hermione said as she stood up and smirked at Harry. She made her way towards the front of the class and said "I read the whole fourth year reading material and am quite sure I will manage to demonstrate it better than someone who wasn't doing all that good in the past."

Harry, among some other students and McGonagall herself, was shocked that the usually quiet Hermione said that and openly was making fun of Harry's past skills.

The Professor and female student stood at the opposite side at the front of the class and many students stood up to see better. Harry too was amongst other students, casually leaning against his staff to see how spectacularly Hermione will fail.

"What's up with her," Seamus, who was standing just behind Harry, whispered.

"I have no bloody idea, she's been like this since yesterday's train ride," Harry whispered.

"Must be girl thing," Dean added.

"I think it's more than just that," Neville said and many agreed, though Harry noticed that Ron hasn't said anything and just looked permanently angry.

Professor and Hermione did the traditional bow and then took their stances – McGonagall's was quite relaxed with her wand by her side, whereas Hermione was quite tense and her posture seemed rigid with her wand hand extended and pointed forwards.

"First move is yours, Ms Granger," McGonagall allowed.

At once Hermione pointed her wand at nearby book and focused _"I will show whose better!"_ she thought and went through the steps necessary for object to animal transfiguration which was mostly same for every other transfiguration – imagine what she wants, clearly visualize it -a cat in this case-, imagine the texture of its fur, how it would pounce about, its vocal cords, compress the imagination into magic, guide the magic to the wand, focus on the object and " _Verto ad bestiam!_ " she shouted and unleashed the spell.

The book moved a bit from the force of the spell and Hermione smirked in triumph, however that smirk was quickly wiped off her face when only a thin, hairy leg sprouted from the book. " _Verto ad bestiam!_ " she shouted again but that didn't change anything and many students snickered and Harry couldn't help but shake his head. Too little magic put into the spell and Hermione clearly didn't visualize the change itself, and had very bad focus due to being nervous.

"And that," McGonagall said "Concludes Ms Granger's demonstration," she then turned towards the girl who was close to crying "If you'd like to rejoin the students, Ms Granger, so we can proceed with a proper demonstration."

"But why?" she asked as a single tear escaped her eye "Why didn't the spell work?"

McGonagall sighed "Ms Granger, the sooner you learn that book smarts is not everything," Hermione's eyes widened "The sooner you your magic will run freer and your spell casting will improve. Now if you'd rejoin the students please, and Mr Potter step forward?"

They did as they were told and Hermione's head was bowed in shame.

Harry and McGonagall proceeded with the traditional bow, and then took their stances. McGonagall still had the same relaxed stance though if one looked closer one could see her gripping the wand a bit tighter. Harry on the other hand took his own made staff stance – he twirled the large focus around and held it diagonally behind him with the tip of the staff facing the ground, his legs wide to give him stability, while his free left hand was in front of him with palm facing down. Many were very interested about the stance but then again, many were also curious as to where was Harry's wand and why did he suddenly started using a staff. Majority of the purebloods however understood why the staff and couldn't help but start respecting Harry a bit. For purebloods, magical prowess was held in high regard.

The Professor gave Harry the same pre emptive move she gave Hermione and Harry was not about to waste it by spending a minute to cast one spell.

With a wave of his left hand that left many students gaping, he transformed two books closest to the professor into snakes that immediately tried to bite her. The professor swiftly responded by turning two quills into small frogs that intercepted the snakes. Harry didn't stop there, however, and followed up by changing one of the cupboard into a leopard, that made the students go 'ooh', with an order to bite McGonagall. The old witch swiftly countered by changing a mug into a large hunting net and launched it at the large cat and intercepted it in mid jump. Seeing that the leopard was restrained, McGonagall followed up by chain transforming the net into dozen snakes, half of them continuing restraining the leopard while the other half launched at Harry. Instead of creating a barrier, the young Emrys just reverse transfigured the snakes back into the mug and McGonagall did the same with the leopard.

There was a one second pause where two combatants regarded each other, and the students clapped at the cool display of magic.

Swiftly as a cat McGonagall waved her wand several times – one wave transfigured another cupboard into a lion that rushed Harry, second wave changed the chair into flock of birds that sped towards Harry like arrows, and the last wave of her wand made a rope, that previously was an ink pot, to fly towards the young wizard.

Harry knew that he couldn't block them all individually fast enough using only transfiguration so he will have to block them all at the same time. With a hand motion he made a book fly towards him, he then quickly followed up by spreading his hands wide apart and transfigurating the book into a massive, sturdy wall that managed to block all the McGonagall incoming attacks. Harry then slammed his staff into the wall and it melted down into several dozen ropes that restrained McGonagall's animals.

Young Emrys then twirled his staff and channelled his magic, making McGonagall widen her eyes at the potency behind it, before quickly pointing the staff and unleashing the spell towards the unused desk that was standing quiet close to the Professor. At once the desk contracted, before suddenly expanding into a huge grizzly bear that towered above McGonagall on its two feet with other two paws high in the air about to turn the old witch into pasta.

Not expected transfiguration of such magnitude, McGonagall transformed into her cat animagus form and managed to swiftly leap out of the way without being harmed before transforming back.

While grizzly bear was turning around to face McGonagall, the witch sent the cupboard, chair and many books flying towards the bear while performing a chain of transfigurations that resulted in a massive cage forming around the bear restricting its movement.

Harry was about to follow up but the Professor lifted her hand and signaled to stop "I believe that is going to be quite enough for a class demonstration, Mr Potter," and Harry visibly relaxed. He helped McGonagall with reverse transforming and putting everything back to their places and when they were done, the whole class bar some people clapped clearly impressed by the demonstration.

"As you all saw, Mr Potter was able to demonstrate a decent skill of object to animal, and object to object transfiguration even when faced with danger. He was able to keep cool head and focus on the spells and that allowed him to swiftly counter my own attacks and think on his feet," she explained "10 point for Gryffindor for the good performance, Mr Potter. Now please take seats and get ready to take notes. This semester you will be taught some of the things demonstrated, mainly object to animal transfiguration and all the laws that governs it. Now, who can tell me..."

And so the lesson continued with the short duel fresh on everyone's minds. While Harry was free to leave he decided to remain in the class and help where he could and even answered some questions when asked what was his process when using transfiguration. However while most people were looking at him in a new light, Ron's glare increased even more and even Hermione couldn't hide her dislike.

When the lesson finished everyone quickly left the room with Harry being the last. Immediately he was faced with fuming Ron with Hermione by his side. He noticed that many stayed behind to see what would happen.

"Isn't that enough that you wear these rich clothes now, act all buddy-buddy with a Malfoy, act like them pureblood scum, but you just have to show off how 'amazing' and powerful you are and take all the spotlight again? Don't you have enough fame, Potter?" Ron growled.

"And cheating and lying to your teachers!" Hermione added "We all know you're not bright student and your spell casting is only sub-par with mine so there is no way you could have honestly do all of those things you did in the class when I couldn't!"

Harry and the other students around could only stare at the angry duo. It hurt that those so called 'best friends' showed they true colours, but he was already expecting this.

"Firstly, Ron," Harry said as he lifted one finger as to emphasise a point "There can never be enough fame. But then again you wouldn't know it, would you?" he smirked as Ron started to get that puce shade to his face like Vernon often did "Secondly, I am pureblood. You are pureblood. By calling me 'them pureblood scum' you also call yourself a scum. I'm glad to see you're not a hypocrite. Thirdly, I got better than you, Hermione, because of pure, natural talent and it seems it's too hard for you to comprehend. But it's ok, all slow learners will get it eventually,"

"Why you-" Ron started but was cut off by Harry.

"I really have no reason to listen to your jealous ramblings any longer, Ron," he said and with a wave of his hand silenced Ron just like he did back on the train. He did the same to Hermione just in case if she also wanted to speak up.

As Harry walked around the angry duo and was about to leave, some Slytherin asked "What do you mean you're a pureblood? We all know you're half-blood!"

Harry only mysteriously smiled as he answered "Oh my blood is purer than all of yours. You will see soon enough."

And so Harry left the scene with some Gryffindors following him never seeing Ron attempting to curse him from the back but never succeeding due the silencing charm, and never seeing another Gryffindor disarming the red head.

* * *

His free period Harry spent in the Room of Requirements going over his occlumency and trying to get all the knowledge on runes and arithmancy from the depths of his mind. He had extensive knowledge in both as he's been focusing on these two fields since he read Emrys' journals. This free period of occlumency also helped him to sort his mixed feelings over Ron and Hermione and he found out that he actually didn't care now.

Now Harry sat in DADA class between Seamus and Dean and expectingly waited for Professor Moody to appear. Harry was really excited for the class, unlike his other classmates, because he knew the wealth of knowledge the retired auror has. And the fact that Moody, just like him, was wielding a staff as his primary focus only added to Harry's excitement because he could finally ask for some tips of how to properly wield the large focus. While goblins' books were very interesting and taught Harry some things, they were mostly about staffs in goblin culture in general so Harry couldn't apply some of those things to himself.

Moody appeared in front of the class out of nowhere and started sending random mild curses in every direction catching almost every student who sat within class. Harry managed to rise a shield bubble around him, Seamus and Dean, but only because he sensed Moody before he appeared. The only other two who managed to raise a shield in time was Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini.

"Constant vigilance!" Moody growled "By the end of the year I will make sure you remember those two words for all of your life lest you want to end up like me!" and motioned to his face.

The rest of the lesson they covered what they are going to study and learn, all the while trying to predict and block or dodge Moody's random curses that left the students complaining.

The last bit of the class was practical and they were paired up and were supposed to practice casting the Protego spell as quickly as possible while also being encouraged to dodge incoming spells.

Harry was paired up with Seamus and thankfully he turned out to be a better caster than Ron was. Though Harry still broke Seamus' shield every time he cast something simply because his magic was so potent. Seamus had to resort to dodging Harry's spells which resulted in those spells hitting someone behind. Harry then proceeded with helping Seamus with giving tips on how to strengthen his shield charm that left the poor Irish teen embarrassed, but even then it wasn't enough to full out block Harry's spells.

When the lesson was coming to an end and students returned to their seats Harry finally raised his hand before Moody could dismiss them.

"Yes, Mr Potter?"

"Could you demonstrate something with your staff?" Harry asked as he eyed the Professor's staff that looked more like overly long walking stick than a staff.

"And why would you want that?" Moody retorted.

Harry replied "Because as you can see I also wield a staff and I only got it this summer. I wanted to maybe see some technique you used and ask for tips for better staff casting."

There was a moment of silence as Moody stared at Harry with both of his eyes that unnerved the young teen before the professor finally replied "No can do, kid. I don't use this these days," and motioned to his staff.

"But how?" Harry insisted "If you need a staff it means your magic is too potent for a wand."

Moody's tongue creepily shot out of his mouth before quickly disappearing and the retired auror took a sip from his ever present silver flask "I've learned to compress my magic that would allow me to use my wand," Harry was about to ask another question but Moody quickly cut him off "No more questions for today. All dismissed."

And students quickly started filtering out of the classroom and those who were not fast enough received a mild stinging hex in their backs courtesy from Moody.

For the entire day everyone complained about the mad professor and DADA suddenly became second most dreadful lesson.

However something didn't sit well with Harry – why didn't Ollivander mention during his explanations anything about compressing magic that would allow wizards with potent magic to use a wand. Harry decided to write a letter to Ollivander and ask that.

The rest of the day went by quite quickly – he spent a little more time in the Room of Requirements, but then mingled with his fellow Gryffindors in the common room. Since he gave up on Ron's and Hermione's friendship he decided to forge new ones.

* * *

The rest of the week went by really quickly as Harry constantly found himself busy with the easy lessons, and developing and experimenting with the new magic casting type. The answer to his problem about using runes for powerful spell casting was unknowingly answered by some upper years when Harry saw them drawing doodles in the air using their wands, leaving various colourful drawings behind that lingered for a moment.

Of course, Harry smacked himself, he saw Tom Riddle in his second year do the same and Harry really was angry for himself for not thinking of this before.

During the week Harry also took time to approach students from different houses and years and tried to make some friends, though he had no big success from Slytherins and Draco was taking an extra effort to avoid Harry. Other students though, seeing how approachable Harry has become, didn't fear of approaching the young wizard themselves. They even said that not many people dared to approach Harry because of Ron's jealous possessiveness that scared people away, and Hermione's 'I'm better than you' attitude. Harry was surprised to learn of what people thought and he was angry at himself again for not seeing this earlier. He never wondered why celebrity like him wasn't approached by people.

Many people also started asking why he needed staff to which Harry always gave the same mysterious answer with a smile

"I came into my inheritance and Ollivander insisted on a staff," and when asked to elaborate on 'inheritance' Harry would always respond with "Soon." that left many bewildered.

Obviously, purebloods knew what having a staff meant, especially as intricate as Harry's and they started to respect his power even if Harry was not showing it off. Harry obliged with demonstrating fancy tricks with his staff similar to what he did on the train ride.

He got really close to Neville, Seamus, Luna, and the twins, and got to know different other people from other houses and while he wouldn't call them close, Harry's circle of friends definitely expanded.

Harry also noticed various interesting things about his new close circle of friends – there was something very wrong when Neville was casting spells but Harry couldn't pinpoint what the feeling was, exactly. It's almost like the wand didn't allow Neville's magic to pass and the poor, shy boy needed to force extra magic through the wand in order to cast spells. And when Neville's magic felt earthy, the wand on the other hand radiated some sort of airiness from it. That in itself was weird since wizard and the chosen wand should work in tandem.

Seamus, on the other hand, turned out to possess fire elemental abilities – from what Harry felt Seamus' magic was so saturated with fire that it wasn't any surprise that a lot of spells exploded into the teen's face. It seemed Seamus was completely unaware of that as he didn't even try to control the fire in his magic.

Luna was the strangest in the new group. Maybe strangest was not the correct word to use, more like unique. Harry almost couldn't feel Luna's presence and the wide eyed girl always managed to startle Harry with her sudden appearances. It's like Luna wasn't even there, and her magic felt so light one could easily miss it. From what Harry deducted she might also have some sort of magic sight, like Ollivander, for she always talked about weird creatures that Harry has never heard off, and that's saying a lot because of his extra knowledge. But when young Emrys asked, the girl only smiled and skipped off giggling.

The twins were also extraordinary. Not only their appearance, but also their magic felt completely identical – when both of them were in one room Harry could only feel as if there was one. And while Harry couldn't say for sure, he guessed there might be a link between their magic that could be both a curse and a blessing.

Ron and Hermione, of course, were only getting more angry and frustrated about Harry and his new friendships, and they often showed it to all the people that Harry talked to including Harry himself. Of course now that they weren't under Harry's protection, so to speak, people retaliated in kind. Ron even dared to call Harry dark once for his new found power and abilities, and said that there is no other way Harry suddenly became so good. He even said that only dark people would abandon his and Hermione's friendships since they were clearly light. Harry just raised an elegant eyebrow in a pureblood manner and asked if Ron meant that anyone else who was not friends with them were dark as well. Harry then wondered if Ron was accusing the Minister of Magic being dark, and even wondered out loud if he should write a letter to the Minister to inform him of that. Ron paled at that, but said that the Minister would never read his letter to which Harry replied "I'm the boy-who-lived, of course he would read my letter."

Of course it was done in the great hall,it occurred to Harry that the second youngest redhead didn't have any idea what 'privacy' was. And before Ron or Hermione could respond, Harry just silenced them in his usual way and left the great hall leaving silently spluttering Ron behind. Ginny on the other hand couldn't decide if she should either support Harry or Ron so she tended to avoid both. Thankfully she's made some friends, one of them being Dean, so thankfully for Harry the youngest Weasley was preoccupied with other things.

After some thinking Harry also realised he didn't care about using his celebrity name to achieve something. It was just another tool to use.

When it was close to the weekend, Harry received a short letter from Sirius:

 **Dear Prongslet, or should I say Duke Emrys,**

 **Surprised, aren't you? Well imagine my own surprise when I arrived at my ancestral home and looked at the family tree only to see you with new surname. Damn, kid, moving fast in the world, aren't you? Yesterday a 'simple third year' who cast corporeal patronus, today some kind of Merlin's reincarnation. Even though we don't really know each other very well yet, I am really proud of you and I can't wait when you will tell me how that happened. That is, if you will want to tell me.**

 **And originally I didn't want to return to my ancestral home as it brings bad memories, but I thought that if I want to spend time with you, then I need a place where we can safely stay at. I mean, if you'd like to spend time with me that is. So I was thinking, that maybe if you want and don't have other plans, you could maybe stay over with me on Christmas holidays? I could also invite Remus, if you want.**

 **But tell me how is your fourth year so far? Enjoying it or not? How is quidditch? Anything's troubling you?**

 **Hoping to hear from you soon,**

 **Snuffles**

Harry was very happy to receive a letter from the only family member he knew and he thought it was kind of funny how Sirius' nervousness was portrayed in the letter. He quickly proceeded with writing up a letter, saying that he would be more than happy to spend Christmas with him.

When Friday rolled by, it was potion lesson time. And Harry found out that he was actually quite good at potions now that he was able to concentrate. His new found knowledge also immensely helped. What Harry found weird though was that Snape wasn't as snarky towards him as he usually is. Snape tried to use legilimency again, this time taking the very subtle approach, but he received same retaliation like last time. Snape didn't bother him after that any more, but Harry was still annoyed because Snape was giving him that weird look that Harry couldn't understand. As if he knew something. They were working individually on their potions and by the end of the lesson the greasy Professor even praised his potion by simply nodding to it and not giving any comments. To Harry that felt like a praise.

When the class finished and he and his friends entered the great hall, he was swiftly approached by McGonagall.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office now, Mr Potter," she said "I've heard he likes Snickers."

"Thank you, Professor, I will see him after I've eaten," Harry replied.

"But he said he wants to see you now."

"And I say I am hungry, Professor. I still have lessons today and I am not going to skip meals. The Headmaster shouldn't ask for students during meal times, as food is very important for physical and magical growth. So he'll have to wait," and without waiting for the reply he went to the Gryffindor table and sat down to eat.

"What do you think Professor Dumbledore wants?" Seamus asked.

Harry shrugged "Whatever that bastard wants, he is not going to get it. Probably information."

"You shouldn't speak of Headmaster that way," Neville said, shocked "He's the greatest wizard of our time."

"So is Voldemort," and on cue everyone flinched and Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"But V- You-Know-Who is dark," Seamus said.

"I wasn't aware that greatness was dependent on your magical core affinity. He did dark things, yes, but he was great nonetheless. And you don't know what I know about Dumbledore," Harry replied.

"I am quite sure they will learn in time, won't they?" asked an airy voice beside him, startling Harry. Again.

"Maybe," Harry said as he looked at Luna who started to fill her plate with food "Did nargles return your items?" seeing Luna shake her head Harry narrowed his eyes "I see. We will find them, don't worry." to which Luna only shrugged.

After he finished eating he finally left the great hall, his friend wishing him good luck, and made his way to the Headmaster's office. The gargoyle guarding the office jumped to the side without even asking for the password, revealing a staircase behind it.

When Harry entered the lush office he was greeted with a disappointed Dumbledore

"Harry, my boy, I asked for you to come earlier. Don't tell me you got lost?"

"Firstly, it's Mr Potter for you," Harry replied "Secondly, not at all. I was having my lunch and I was not about to skip a meal only because you wanted to see me. I need food in order for my magic and physicality to develop."

"I see," Dumbledore said and motioned for a chair in front of his desk that Harry took "Lemon drop?"

"No thanks," and Harry looked around the office. It was the same as it was last time he was there, though he saw that Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, was not present in the room at the moment and Harry wondered where the mystical bird could be.

"I don't understand why no one wants the lemon drops," Dumbledore mused.

"Indeed. And I wonder why you don't eat them yourself from all the times I've been here," Harry replied but was met with silence.

"So, Mr Potter," Dumbledore began "How are you finding your lessons?"

"Very easy, Headmaster. But it's only the first week so I can't say how I will find them in the future."

"I see, I see. And you've been adjusting good to using your... staff?"

Harry smirked as he twirled his staff and drawled "Yes, it's becoming easier to cast magic the more I use it. It was a hindrance at the beginning, but I've grown attached to it and it now feels like extension of me. Even my old wand never felt like that."

Dumbledore nodded "I see. And what are those runes above the handle?"

Harry raised an eyebrow "That is none of your business, Headmaster."

"Oh but it is, Ha- Mr Potter," Dumbledore retorted "I must know what those runes are for the safety of other students. What if they are harmful? You don't study runes so you won't know."

"As law states the properties of magic focus is confidential, only the creator and the user are privy to the information. Other people have no rights of demanding the properties of the focus, unless it asked during a legal Wizengamot session and the reason for asking for such information is justified," Harry said "So I'm sorry, Headmaster, but I am not disclosing what those runes are. And my knowledge in runes are extensive enough to know what those runes are and do," now the last bit was a lie.

"And pray tell me where you got that knowledge? As far as I am aware you are not taking Runes elective," Dumbledore asked.

"A mistake I will rectify quite soon," Harry replied "And I did some self study during the summer and I had a good teacher," he lied.

"Who was your teacher?" Dumbledore quickly followed up, desperate for any information on what Harry did during the summer and where he was "And did the lessons take in the same place where you were staying?"

"That is also none of your business, Headmaster," Harry coolly replied "You have no right to demand information of my life outside the school."

"I see," Dumbledore said again, his eyes losing a bit of that annoying twinkle "In that case, as a Headmaster of this school I must ask you to give up your staff to me in safety purposes. It's dangerous to have such tool in the school where you could accidentally hit someone, and where no one knows what those runes are."

Harry incredulously looked at the Headmaster, what the actual fuck was that demand? Did the old coot go mad over the summer?

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, feeling anger raising inside him "I am not giving up my staff and, again, you have no rights whatsoever to ask me to. Law states that it is an offence to take student's magic focus and lock it away without having a full permission from the Wizengamot, and the punishment for doing so almost equals that of breaking someone else's wand. The focus can be taken away as a part of examination or punishment but the student must be present in the same room at all times. The law was made to protect the students from being defenceless in a magical environment, and from sabotaging their studies and ultimately final marks," before Dumbledore could reply Harry took a page from Malfoy book and said "The Minister will hear about this!"

And that shut Dumbledore up. Harry began to raise but Dumbledore quickly said "My apologies, it seems I overstepped my boundaries."

"You sure did," Harry retorted.

"But I must ask you, H- Mr Potter. Do you know Arrowdent?"

Harry almost widened his eyes at the question but thankfully his tight occlumency shields that allowed the control of his emotions prevented him from outwardly showing his shock. He couldn't believe Dumbledore outright asked that, the old coot must be desperate for any kind of information. For a moment Harry wondered if maybe he shouldn't have been so straightforward with the Dumbledore but then Harry realised that he doesn't have the patience or any wish to pretend to be same old Harry Potter from before.

"Yes, I know him," Harry finally said.

"Have you met him recently?" Dumbledore asked.

Dumbledore was losing his touch if he was so blunt and didn't even hide he was fishing for information. It must be Dumbledore's failed attempts of getting into his mind. Oh Harry felt old coot try to mind rape him several times but thanks to his occlumency he not only could detect it, but he could also deflect the attempts by feeding false memories. Dumbledore must be getting tired of not getting what he was looking for in his mind.

"I see this meeting has nothing to do with my actual studies," Harry said as he swiftly stood up "And it's not the first time you asked personal questions so I will take my leave until you have something school relating to say and ask. Good day, Headmaster."

"Harry, wait!" but it was too late. Harry left the office and disappeared in Hogwarts halls never seeing Dumbledore's dangerously narrowed eyes glared at Harry's back as he left his office.

* * *

It was the weekend now and meeting with Headmaster was still fresh on his mind. His new friends asked him several times what did they talk about but Harry decided not to say for now and thankfully they left it alone. They had better tact than Hermione or Ron ever had – those two would annoy him endlessly until he told them.

It was evening after all the classes now and almost all of the students, along with some Professors, were in the great hall now that was bathed in the blue light radiating off the goblet of fire. Seamus, Neville, Luna, Harry was sitting close to the goblet on the usual Gryffindor table, and even Dean chose to join them. The last few day Dean took an example from Harry and started making new friendships in different house and he could always be seen with different groups of people. The twins weren't there though. They wanted to come for the public name putting night, but said they were working on something that would give them the chance to enter their names into the tournament. And it wasn't like no one but Harry could enter the tournament from Gryffindors – everyone were welcomed to try. His announcement on the first day back was only made so that his classmates wouldn't get a nasty surprise or think he cheated.

Many students were putting their names in to the goblet, and even the younger ones tried but their attempts were always met with harmless magical backslash that threw them away from the goblet with their piece of paper intact. Draco Malfoy met the same end despite his confident swagger before. Sometimes the goblet would downright refuse to accept someone deeming them unworthy or incapable of participating in a tournament as it was demonstrated with a seventh year Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

Harry and his friends were talking when Harry saw Cedric Diggory, a seventh year Hufflepuff that Harry made friends with, uncertainly approaching the goblet. He hesitated a bit before putting his name in to the goblet and immediately he was met with loud cheers as the piece of paper disappeared in the fire.

"You should go, Harry!" Seamus whispered "Now is better time than ever, everyone is here," and then he started chanting "Harry! Harry! Harry!" and soon enough the whole Gryffindor house joined in the chanting and cheering for Harry that made the whole great hall look their way.

Harry stood up, slightly embarrassed but very happy that he had so many supporters.

He slowly approached the goblet of fire, twirling his staff and making a show of this whole thing, and passed the age line that guarded the goblet from younger years. A bit nervously he reached out and put a piece of paper that read "Harrison Emrys" into the goblet. Immediately the goblet swallowed the piece of paper that disintegrated in its' blue fire and Harry grinned as all the Gryffindors cheered even louder. The goblet has accepted him.

He stepped away from the goblet with a grand twirl of his staff (since his rebirth he found out he had a tendency for dramatics) and a bow to fellow Gryffindors he returned to his place where he was quickly swarmed with his classmates, everyone congratulating him. It wasn't such a big deal to put your name in the goblet, but it was a big deal to be accepted by it. The goblet recognised Harry to be on par with the seventh years and that was a big deal for everyone.

"What was the meaning of this, Mr Potter?!" McGonagall asked as she along with Severus approached Harry with big strides from where she was silently observing "Firstly, how did you pass the age line? Secondly, do you really think you are capable of participating and competing with older, more experienced students?" other students in the hall listened in, curious about the same thing too.

"His arrogance knows no boundaries," Snape said and that was the first time in a week when the Potions Professor ever said anything snarky to him "Seems he needs even more gold and fame than he already has."

"Professors," Harry greeted with charming smile that made McGonagall relax and Severus narrow his eyes. He already saw that charming smile somewhere else "I am fully emancipated and considered adult by law and magic so it wasn't a big deal to pass the magical age line. And the goblet accepted me, did it not? It means that it considers me able to compete with other possible participants. Besides, I might not be competing at all since it's still a little over a month until the actual selection and I might not be chosen."

McGonagall sighed "I guess you're right, Mr Potter. But if you ever need any help, please, you know you can talk to me, right?"

Harry genuinely smiled "Thank you professor, but if I am chosen as participant then I won't be able to ask for your assistance as it is against the tournament rules to ask for professors' help. And I might have enough fame as boy-who-lived, Professor Snape, but it wasn't my accomplishment. That fame was made out of my mother's sacrifice and I am only living in its shadow. This is the perfect opportunity to make a name for myself using my own hands."

"Very inspiring and courageous, Mr Potter," McGonagall said "Very well then. But know that you have my support and it seems that the support of the whole house," She then leaned and whispered "And technically the tournament has not started yet," she winked and leaned back "I wish you good luck."

Before Snape could add his two knuts, McGonagall dragged him away from the group.

The entire night was quite peaceful for Harry as many people congratulated him on being the youngest person so far who entered his name into the goblet and got accepted. Thankfully he didn't get any negative comments yet and that must be because everyone heard how he could pass the age line.

Of course, after McGonagall and Snape left, Ron accused him of using dark magic to get past the age line, not believing in the emancipation but everyone was already used to Ron's bullshit. Before Ron's volume could escalate even more, Harry did his trademark silencing charm with a wave of his hand that left many people who didn't see him perform wandless magic raise they eyebrows.

All in all Harry was very happy with how the first week back at Hogwarts has played out for Harry and even the castle itself sang in contentment inside Harry's core.

But Harry never noticed a large magical eye studying his every movement from the shadows.

* * *

 **Yes. I increased the prize money because after reading hundreds of fanfictions 1000 galleons just sounds like a knut.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! A quick update, albeit a short one. My chapter lengths / update intervals are really inconsistent, I know.**

 **IMPORTANT!: I'm still looking for beta so if someone is interested...**

 **IMPORTANT! 2: Friend of mine who is a good artist and has drawn a very close visual representation of Harry's staff that I'd love to share with you. However, it seems fanfic has updated their security and I can't hyperlink deviantart link on my profile anymore as it would only redirect me back to my own profile so I do not know how to share it. Please someone PM me who knows how I could bypass that and share the picture.**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 8

Some weeks have passed since Harry entered his name into the goblet and it was early October now and the whole school was abuzz with the excitement – today was Friday of the 7th of October and this evening the representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive and thus the evening classes have been cancelled so that the whole school can witness their arrival and welcome their new temporary classmates.

Harry and his new group of closest friends could be found on the balcony of one of the hidden rooms of Hogwarts that revealed the grand view of a huge river that connected to the Black Lake with two looming mountains on either side of it, and the terrace below the balcony. According to the Professors that's where the students of both foreign schools will be met. Harry looked down to the terrace and smirked, there was huge crowd of students down there, all dressed in warm autumn clothes and loudly talking with anticipation. Thankfully the place they were at offered the same view as the students below while at the same time providing them with the comfort of space and warmth of the castle.

Neville, Seamus, Luna, and the twins were talking between themselves while Harry reminisced over the last couple of weeks.

Harry became quite popular between all the student body, and even managed to charm his way into some of the Professor's hearts, particularly McGonagall, Flitwick, Babbling, and Vector. He gave up on divination and picked up Runes and Arithmacy, and even though he had to do all the exams and tests of the previous year, he passed them with flying colours and got included into the fourth years class. Hermione, of course, was shocked. Professors Babbling and Vector were utterly fascinated by Harry's extensive knowledge of runes and numbers and his various, creative suggestions in class. To Hermione's chagrin they even offered Harry to take a test that will allow him to do fifth year classes and do his OWLs early.

Students too were charmed by Harry, he just suddenly became so charismatic. Not to mention after his rebirth he got taller, all his malnourishment gone, and the way Harry started looking after himself just made him be such a good looking person that many girls and even guys desired him, especially the older ones. Harry showed his confidence, his charm, and his intelligence that was reflected on his grades, quick wit, and creativity. He was very easy to talk to and people around him just felt happier, and even their magic sang in happiness even if they didn't know that. But Harry was also a bit cocky and arrogant at times because he knew what people thought of him. And he couldn't help himself. He didn't flaunt his skill or intelligence like Hermione did, and he always helped where he could, always answered some student's or Professor's plea that made him all the more attractive to other people, and that made his arrogance to be overlooked.

But students also knew and were perfectly aware that Harry was very powerful and if someone got on his bad side then he usually got very scary. Many students have seen Harry in his anger, how his emerald eyes started to glow and his magic saturate the air, making it colder than the winter itself.

There was this one incident, Harry smiled, where him and some other students were walking towards the great hall after their evening classes and ran into a group of sixth and seventh year Slytherins bullying two Hufflepuff second years. Seeing that they were discovered the Slytherins wanted to take a run, but seeing that they were only some fourth and lower years decided to stay. Immediately they started their Slytherin sneering and threatening. Harry's anger rose to unbelievable height – he hated pointless bullying, he had enough of that in his life. But he controlled that anger, for controlling your emotions means controlling your magic. Instead, he projected his magic into the hallway making the whole space to be covered by a sheet of ice. He restrained the group of bullies with the _Incancerous_ spell before they cold do anything and gave them a very harsh dressing-down while his magic was spiking in anger. Afterwards, he literally delivered the group to Malfoy in the great hall who paled when he saw angry Emrys coming with Slytherin luggage.

After throwing the restrained group on Malfoys feet, Harry icily said "I would be very grateful if you'd use your 'Prince of Slytherin' status and informed your dear house mates that I won't tolerate any kind of bullying." Without waiting for the reply he turned around on his heels and sat down at his table while leaving behind a trail of cold air. Snape was about to deduct points but before he managed to even open his mouth Harry said that he can provide memory evidence that shut Snape up.

After that the students who were with him told others what happened and after a couple of days there was a whole exaggerated story going on around Hogwarts. And it was always amusing how Malfoy tried to avoid Harry like a plague.

Even though he made friends in all the houses, he still had difficulties with Slytherins. He only had successful conversations with Daphne and Blaise, but even then they were more polite and pureblood than friendly. And even if Malfoy was not tormenting him anymore, there were others who replaced the blonde. Namely Millicent Bullstrode, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and occasionally Ron. And Harry couldn't make heads or tails of what he had done to them, but he didn't care too much since so far he always came back on top.

Along with his popularity, his magic development also grew and he finally managed to incorporate runes into his spell casting and the day when he achieved it he was so happy that that memory alone could power up a patronus. That meant he could look deeper into olde way of casting and in a way he was closer to his ancient family's legacy.

He also finally drained his deep hidden knowledge of all the information on runes, spell creation, and arithmancy, and he started on digging for the knowledge of pureblood ethics and the like. He had a feeling he'd need that very soon.

Shortly after putting his name into the cup he arranged private lessons with McGonagall where Harry was taught a more advanced form of transfiguration, which was actually more theory than practical but Harry welcomed the lessons nonetheless because he was actually learning something interesting and he was able to apply it practically on his own time. He always looked forward to these lessons because McGonagall would tell him various stories of his parents and Harry was eternally grateful for that. He felt closer to them now, even if his dad turned out to be sort of a bully.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Neville's sudden exclamation of "Look!" and Harry saw him pointing towards the sky. Immediately everyone else rushed to the balcony and leaned over it as if to get a closer look.

There, over the horizon, a herd of pure white winged horses pulled a pastel-blue carriage and swiftly approached the Hogwarts castle. Within moments it was already nearby and the winged horses did a show of flying around Hogwarts once, and flew past very close to where Harry and his friends were that made them do the 'woah!', before finally landing on the terrace below. Hagrid was responsible of directing the landing and then taking the beautiful horses to somewhere he could watch over them. Harry smiled, he hasn't talked with Hagrid yet so he will need to visit him soon.

The carriage doors swung open and a woman of impressive height climbed out, followed by a group of several dozen girls dressed in pale blue uniforms consisting of knee length skirts, blouse, and a cute hat. They were greeted by Dumbledore and then led inside the castle.

The moment Beauxbatons delegates entered the castle, an enormous ship emerged from the river. It unfurled one of their huge sails that depicted Durmstrang's coat of arms. The ship was also swift with approaching the shore and unloading the headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, and Durmstrang students who turned out to be all male dressed in thick, crimson coats. They too were greeted by Dumbledore and led into the castle.

Everyone were ushered into the great hall, and Harry and his friends took their seats at Gryffindor table. Now it was already a normal occurrence of seeing Luna Lovegood with the lions. As Harry sat down he, and a lot of other students, noticed that the ever present Goblet of Fire was removed and instead replaced by same container box they've seen at the beginning of the September that was now innocently standing next to the staff table. Many asked themselves what that could mean and Harry narrowed his eyes as he looked at the smiling Dumbledore.

When everyone sat down, Dumbledore stood up and addressed the students "The long awaited day has finally arrived and I am more than happy to welcome our new neighbours for the year! Without further ado please welcome the beautiful ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their Headmistress Olympe Maxime!" he said as he started clapping.

The great hall doors opened, allowing Beauxbatons girls to enter. As part of their presentation they made their way to the front by graceful dancing, and elegant twirls, conjuring blue butterflies as they went. It was both an impressive demonstration of collective wandless casting, and playing on the male audience, as Harry saw a lot of Hogwarts guys drool at the display. Madam Maxime entered afterwards and many were impressed by her height – she easily towered above all the students as she passed.

"She must have some giant blood," someone whispered not so subtly over the Gryffindor table.

Dumbledore greeted Madam Maxime once more at the front of the great hall and the large Headmistress took a seat on the right of Dumbledore's, whereas the students chose to sit with the Ravenclaws.

"And now please welcome the proud students of the Durmstrang Institute and their Headmaster Igor Karkaroff!"

The doors opened again and Durmstrang males entered in orderly two rows that was lead by none other than Viktor Krum himself who received a lot of pointing fingers. All of them were carrying some sort of staffs, even though for Harry they didn't give off a feeling of a staff so he dubbed them 'walking twigs', and they moved as one, twirling the walking twigs and leaving scorch marks on the floor where they hit. When they arrived at the front they finished their demonstration by impressive show of collective conjuration where they conjured a massive flame from their wands that took the shape of a bird that quickly dispersed. Karkaroff then was greeted by Dumbledore and the Durmstrang Headmaster took a site on the left from Dumbledore. The students, however, decided to sit with the Slytherins. Something that Draco Malfoy was very happy about, Harry mused.

"Now that everyone has been welcomed, we can proceed with the feast!" Dumbledore clapped and food appeared on all the tables "Enjoy!"

"The house elves have outdone themselves again," Harry commented as he took a slice of some of the offered food "This is fantastic!"

Hermione, who sat nearby and heard what Harry had said, screeched "What?!"

"What 'what'?" the twins parroted both at the same time.

"You mean to tell me that house elves make our food?" the bushy girl asked as she pushed her plate of food away.

"They also clean our rooms and dormitories," Seamus said.

"And the whole castle," Neville added with a smirk.

Neville has grown a lot personality wise in the past month. He was still shy but because he was on in Harry's circle of friends he was forced to be around many different people, and he was exposed to Harry's confidence that somewhat rubbed off on him. He wasn't on the same level as Harry, but he no longer tried to hide and actually spoke up when someone was talking to him. It also appeared that the shy boy could be very vindictive. Due to his boost in confidence, his spell casting also has somewhat improved but Harry still found something very wrong with it that the young Emrys hasn't figured out yet.

"But that's inhuman!" Hermione said "Slavery!"

"They like to work, Hermione," Harry said "It's the purpose of house elves to work and serve for their master or whatever they are bound to. If they don't serve, if they are free, then their magic deteriorates and they eventually die," Harry then blinked at his own explanation as he remembered something "That reminds me. Dobby?"

At once the oddly over excited elf popped into existence next to Harry and all the nearby eyes turned to him and Harry "Great Harry Potter sir called Dobby?"

Harry smiled "I did, Dobby. Tell me how do you feel? How is your magic?"

The elf's eyes widened, if that was even possible, as he almost cried out "Oh Great Harry Potter sir is concerned about Dobby? Oh how great is great Harry Potter sir!" he then blew his nose in a magically summoned handkerchief "I is fine, Harry Potter sir. Magic fine too. Me is young, sir, me magic dying slower. But Dobby misses serving for someone, even if my previous masters were nasty masters!"

"I'm glad you're fine, Dobby," Harry then leaned close to the elf and quietly whispered him in the ear so that no one could hear him "Since you're a free elf, would you like to bond with me?" Harry then leaned back and seeing Dobby's even wider eyes that began to water, the young Emrys quickly said "Don't tell me now, tell me later, ok? I will call you."

Dobby quickly nodded his head that made his ears bounce and popped away before Harry could say another word.

"What was that about?" Hermione immediately asked "Don't tell me it is what I think it was!"

Harry just shrugged and ignored the girl for the rest of the evening as she kept on ranting about house elves and their rights, instead he tried to enjoy the feast with his friends. When the main meal was finished, the dessert followed that made Hogwarts' guests be impressed by both variety and how finely made they were. When the desserts were finished and the food banished, Dumbledore stood up and the whole great hall went quiet.

"Now that all of us are fed and watered, it's time for the big announcements," Dumbledore smiled and everyone suddenly got a sense of deja vu "I am honoured to announce that this year Hogwarts will house the biggest event in a century – The-"

He was very rudely interrupted by Draco's almost perfectly drawling voice that resonated through the silent hall "Headmaster Dumbledore-"

"Not now, Mr Malfoy!" Dumbledore tried to stop the Slytherin Prince but Draco finished his sentence anyway.

"Where is the Goblet of Fire? A friend of mine wanted to enter as well and unlike other students, who had already entered their names, he only now decided that he wants to participate. And you already told us all about the tournament before, using exact same words. I was just concerned that maybe you didn't remember?" Draco innocently asked. Draco shot Harry a hidden, concerned look that Harry saw. Harry replied with a smile and a nod, and Draco's lips twitched into a faint smile too but Harry could see that his entire face and posture seemed pleased.

Harry indeed approved of the interruption and the question as he himself was about to do it but he was still baffled at Malfoy's obvious reverence and fear of him that he couldn't make heads or tails off. And the blond boy was also the only one who has seen his Emrys ring, but Harry assumed that there was a charm on the ring and no one could see it unless directly shown by Harry.

At Draco's exclamation, Olympe and Igor jumped up from their seats "What iz ze meening of zis, Dumblydoor?" "The goblet was not to be revealed until the day before selection!"

Dumbledore scathingly looked at Draco who only feigned confusion and owlishly blinked. Dumbledore then tried to save his face "Now now, young Mr Malfoy here has quite influential father in the ministry so he could have gotten information from him. I assure you-"

"Headmaster, if you wanted to lie to our respectful guests then you should have done that in the confinement of your office, not in front of the whole student body where someone could and would speak up," Harry said as he rose from his seat with elegance, portraying confidence and charm that everyone so loved.

"Mr Potter-" Dumbledore started but was interrupted by Harry. The old headmaster could only briefly close his eyes as to contain his anger.

"Madam Maxime, Headmaster Karkaroff," young Emrys addressed the pair with a short bow "You are our guests and it's most disgraceful that you'd be lied in the face so I offer my apologies on the behalf of all Hogwarts and offer you the truth," Harry saw that majority of students nodded in agreement. Both headmasters now turned their whole attention to Harry so he continued "We have been told of the tournament and the goblet of fire at the beginning of the September when we just came back to the castle. On the following day we were allowed to submit our names."

"Preposterous!" Karkaroff shouted and Harry nodded.

"Indeed. We were not aware that the goblet was to be revealed only a day before the selection."

"Hogwartz had plentzy of timez to meddle wiz ze gobletz."

"How can we be sure that it hasn't been compromised to benefit Hogwarts?" Igor angrily asked and Olympe nodded.

Dumbledore tried to interfere again before thing could get out of hand "Now that's exaggeration! Surely no one in this hall would ever try to compromise the goblet. After all, we are all honest here."

Harry snorted and it seemed Olympe was not pleased with the response either "Let ze boy speak," Harry's eyebrow twitched at how he was addressed "It seemz he has more senze than you at ze momentz."

"Thank you, Madame Olympe," Harry nodded "Indeed, the goblet might have been compromised by either the Professors or some students so what if the goblet was to be checked by an impartial professional? Surely their expertise would be sufficient to ease your worries?"

"And who would be these 'professionals'?" Karkaroff cautiously asked. He had heard a lot about Potter but now when he was talking to him in a flesh he seemed so much different than what the stories have depicted. And that power he was leaking... No wonder he needed a staff.

Harry laughed "Goblins, of course! After all Goblet of Fire is goblin made artefact and who would be better at checking it than goblins themselves? I can arrange for someone to come tomorrow, if that is acceptable?"

"Zat would be sufficient, Mr Potter," Olympe said "But what about ze monthly headstart zat Hogwartz studentz haz?"

"How about after the examination, if the goblet is not tampered with, Hogwarts students have only an hour during the dinner tomorrow as a last chance to enter their names? After all there are some like Mr Malfoy's friend who still wants to enter and if the goblet was not tampered then it wouldn't matter if more students entered as everyone has equal chance. After an hour the goblet would be sealed so that no one representing Hogwarts could enter," Harry finished and heard some unhappy voices behind so Harry turned around and addressed the students "Guys, think about it! You wouldn't want to lose Quidditch try outs, or mastery place, only because someone applied one month earlier. Besides, it seems that our esteemed Headmaster has breached some tournament rule that has been agreed on, and it has the potential of turning into international conflict that could result in Hogwarts losing some of its reputation and that in turn could make people have second thoughts about housing some exciting events at Hogwarts," when Harry put it that way many people agreed and Harry was glad he could sway them into his way of thinking. He then faced two guest Heads of their schools and asked "Is that acceptable?"

Olympe and Igor took some time whispering with each other, and Harry felt many eyes on him, especially Dumbledore's. After some minutes, that actually were only seconds, Karkaroff said "That is acceptable, Mr Potter. Dumbledore has breached the confidentiality rule, but thankfully you were around and took diplomatic approach rather than try to talk your way out of it, like Headmaster Dumbledore would. We won't be taking this to the Ministry, but we won't tolerate any kind of interference in the tasks it selves," Karkaroff then addressed the students "Hogwarts students! I don't want there to be bad blood between us on our first day so I will elaborate. The reason this is worth reporting to the respective departments in the Ministry is not mainly because the goblet was revealed too early, but because Albus Dumbledore didn't heed the rules and considered himself above them and went against ICW wishes. And who knows if Dumbledore has done that before? Thankfully to Mr Potter, this issue has been temporary solved. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening," Karkaroff stiffly nodded to Dumbledore and Harry before him and Olympe took their seats again.

Harry, seeing that the whole 'performance' was finished, returned to his seat. Awkward silence filled the great hall and Dumbledore proceeded by silently revealing the Goblet once again. Of course, no one was impressed. Dumbledore then returned to his seat and was engaged in a conversation with other professors though everyone could see he had some sort of stiffness about him.

The rest of the evening was uneventful apart from Harry being congratulated on his brave display and fast wit and being able to avert international conflict that would be Draco's fault. Harry defended Draco and said if he didn't speak up then Harry himself would because the guests would learn of that sooner rather than later knowing how talkative Hogwarts students were, and the consequences would have been more severe. Everyone had to agree to that.

After a while some professors have left the great hall, Dumbledore being amongst them. Some students also left the hall, though majority of them stayed to get to know their neighbours a little bit more. Checking the time Harry saw that it was several hours before the curfew so he had some time for his personal practice/training. He stood up, told his friends he is going for some work out and left the great hall. He smiled, his new group was amazing. They developed very close bond with each other quite quickly, and Harry loved that they didn't constantly bug them with unnecessary questions. They already got used to Harry's work outs where he would disappear Merlin knows where so every time it was time for Harry to go, they would say "Have fun!" and not "Where are you going?". Harry considered maybe finally taking them all with him though he was pretty sure Luna was completely aware of everything Harry did. Luna just eerily knew everything. Apart from where her stolen stuff was.

Unbeknownst to him, Karkaroff saw Harry leave and making sure that no one was actively talking to him or watching the Durmstrang Headmaster used some of his many talents and silently slipped out of the great hall and followed Harry. Of course, no one noticed him slip past. Apart from one very keen eyed and concerned Potions Professor. He followed Karkaroff and also subtly slipped out of the great hall. But one doesn't just ignore the fact that Karkaroff was missing and that Snape was quickly walking out. The Weasley twins looked at each other, whispered some excited words to Seamus, Luna, and Neville, and soon the group of five friends silently followed Snape in hopes of getting some juicy stuff that would make the Hogwarts rumour mill to go crazy. Hermione and Ron noticed that and looked at each other too, before taking off after the group. And there was nothing that could be hidden from the inner eye. A very uncharacteristic predatory smirk crossed Trelawney's face that was hidden behind a large cake that she was eating with her bare hands. She silently thanked her inner eye for insisting she attends the evening's feast. She said goodbyes to fellow professors with very excited words "My crystal balls needs tending!" and quickly left the hall via staff member doors behind the staff table.

The game was on, Sybill mused, some players were revealed, and it was time for her to make a move. So many possibilities, so many outcomes, so many revelations and changes, so many paths this time line could take. Nothing was certain. Nothing was pre-determined. And that made Sybill's insides tremble with excitement and anticipation as she let out a cackling laughter in the empty hallway that scared the shit out of resting portraits. Sybill hummed some tune to herself as she swiftly navigated through the halls in hopes of catching Harry before he disappears in that trice damned Room.

At the same time a furious Dumbledore stormed into his office, brandished his Elder wand and with one sweep obliterated half of his office in anger "That blasted boy ruining all my plans!"

" _Old fucking fool!_ " Fawkes screeched " _Ha, in your face, faggot! All your planning and meddling disappeared down the toilet! Grandfatherly Twinkle Eyed shit eater! Lord of Light my fuckin' arse!_ " The Phoenix had accumulated quite colourful lexicon throughout the ages by being in the presence of so many students.

Dumbledore smiled and petted the fiery bird "Yes, yes, I quite agree. We will think of something. Thank you, Fawkes. That's exactly what I needed."

Of course, no matter what Fawkes was actually saying, to everyone else it will always be a beautiful, comforting, and serene singing. Perks of being a phoenix.

Obviously, Harry was completely and utterly oblivious to all of this as he made his way to the seventh floor in quite relaxed pace and unaware of the grand chase.

* * *

 **No offence was meant with 'faggot' to anyone. Fawkes is just gonna be a very colourful character with interesting choice of words.**

 **Tell me what you think of Sybill.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello guys! Firstly, big thanks for everyone who liked, followed, reviewed the story! Your words and support means a lot to me and this story!**

 **Secondly, here's another chapter where a couple of things are introduced so please tell me what you think of the chapter. Again, this is a longer chapter since I am going off on holiday next week and am taking a little break.**

 **IMPORTANT! And since I am going off on holidays I am putting a poll on my profile for possible relationship for Harry. The poll is going to be up until I post my new chapter, maybe even longer. If you have a questions for my reasons for the choice, please PM me and I'll answer.**

 **ALSO! Thanks to one of my readers, you can check my profile and check out visual representation of Harry's staff that was drawn by a friend of mine! Kudos to the guy!**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 9

"Mr Potter!" Karkaroff called out as he finally caught up with Harry in a barren hallway of the fourth floor.

Harry stopped and turned around and waited until the Durmstrang Headmaster approached him. Usually he'd take a shortcut to the seventh floor but he felt someone following him so he took the longer route and was somewhat surprised it was Karkaroff.

"Took you four floors to catch up with me, Headmaster Karkaroff," Harry cheekily said when the Headmaster finally was next to him.

"You felt me?" Karkaroff asked, quite surprised.

Harry nodded "Since the staircase. Hard to miss another wizard's magical presence when you are the only one in the hallway."

Now magical sensing wasn't that much of a deal, it was an easy ability for grown up wizards and witches to develop and master. However, study showed that wizards or witches who doesn't have close to or complete control over their own magic, and that meant most people who haven't reached their majority yet, it was almost impossible to master this ability. The fact that Mr Potter could use the ability and sense him so easily when in a such heavy magic saturated place where even adult wizards would struggle meant that he had very tight control over his magic. That could also mean he was proficient at occlumency as there was no other way for someone his age to master their magic, Karkaroff mused. And that also meant that the boy was very powerful hence the staff, and could actually be a force to be reckoned with as he learns more and develops.

Karkaroff smiled "Well you are quite fast and familiar with the place, whereas I had to focus more on where I am going rather than actually catching up with you. So I took my time memorizing the route."

It was good that Harry didn't use the shortcut then. He readjusted the staff so it was resting on his left shoulder and asked "And here we are. What can I do for you, Headmaster Karkaroff?"

Harry was calm and charming as ever but inside he was very cautious. When he learned that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were coming over, he tried his best to learn as much about the schools and Headmasters as possible. Harry learnt of Igor's shady past and how he gained his freedom.

"You are very well known over seas as well, Mr Potter. And to be honest, you are not quite what I expected," Karkaroff honestly said.

"Oh?"

Karkaroff nodded "Yes. I believed you'd be a spoiled brat with disgusting personality, who used his fame as an excuse to do everything he wanted, and who isn't generally liked," he looked into Harry's burning eyes, even they radiated power and confidence. Maybe... "But it quickly turned out you could think fast on your feet and were polite, and generally liked by majority of the school. And the magic you are leaking..." there was a small wonder in his voice "Mr Potter, do you realise how _intoxicating_ it is?"

Harry was surprised at that as he always thought his magic was tightly under his control and nothing was felt by other people. Did other students feel that too? Did many wanted to spend time with him not only because of his new confidence and charm, but also because his magic was 'intoxicating'?

He was brought out from his thoughts as Karkaroff continued "I thought that you were mentored by Dumbledore considering he is exceptionally strong wizard," Harry snorted "But I quickly realised that was not the case the way you so openly spoke against him, and the way he looked at you. I haven't seen your spell repertoire, but I expect it to be just as impressive as your magic... And I know for a fact that you _must_ have good ability in occlumency and magic sensing, and I'm sure you know how to use your staff – you got it recently from the looks of it. You suddenly became very, very interesting, Mr Potter. Tell me, who was your teacher?"

Harry really didn't know what he wanted or what Karkaroff was getting at, he tried subtle legilimency sweep to see if the man had defences but retreated at the first notion of a wall. He decided to reply nonetheless "No one. I learnt mostly from books and experimenting."

Karkaroff was surprised. Books on occlumency were rare, and books on legilimency were even rarer, he had felt the very faint foreign brush of magic in his mind. If Harry used books then he either had access to his family vaults which would mean he was emancipated, or he got them from very shady sellers for a small fortune. And books can only get you so far...

Assuming it was the first, he asked "Then it must mean you are emancipated, correct?" cautiously Harry nodded. Almost whole school knew it so it wasn't a secret but he still didn't know what Karkaroff wanted "Is it Lord Potter then?"

Harry looked behind Karkaroff and frowned. He returned his eyes to Headmaster's and said "Yes, but not quite. Why do you want to know?"

"I wanted to offer-" but he was cut off.

"Actually, never mind," he looked behind the man again but there was no one. Yet. "Someone was following you and they finally caught up," he said and Karkaroff eyes slightly widened. The man turned around but there was no one "The person is going to be here any moment now," the man looked back at Harry.

 _'Intoxicating, huh?'_ Harry thought. He decided to take a leap of faith and adjusted his right hand on the staff so it was more visible, while at the same time willing his diamond lordship ring to be seen by Karkaroff. When the man saw the ring his eyes widened even further and he quickly snapped his attention from the hand to Harry's eyes and at this moment Harry released some of his magic, allowing more of it to leak out, making his eyes glow even more; He consciously focused it solely on Karkaroff. Igor's eyes closed as fast as they widened and his lips parted as he released a barely audible moan that Harry was able to catch.

"Karkaroff!" the all familiar Snape's voice shouted from the end of the hallway and when Igor opened his eyes he only saw Harry's cloak disappear behind the corner.

* * *

Severus Snape was stalking after Karkaroff with big steps in hopes of catching up before Karkaroff could do something to Harry. Oh he knew how devious his ex-colleague could be. And since the dark mark started to act up he honestly waited for the man to do something foolish in order to save him but he didn't expect that he would go after Harry literally on the first day back.

Harry Potter though, he frowned as he thought about the boy, became complete mistery. In the previous three years he was so easy to read – he could storm the boy's mind and feel as if it was his own place the way he could access it. Now thought... The Potter spawn had impenetrable defences that he was not expecting on his first day back and it also seems Potter was versed in legilimency seeing how easily he found his second, more subtle attempt to read his mind and the way he was able to shove him out while also sending a mental message. He didn't heed it the first time, but he made sure he didn't try to do it after the second time in the lesson.

But that of itself was almost impossible – it takes years to master both occlumency and legilimency to the level that Potter seemingly had.

And also Potter's grades have improved. A lot. Apparently his theory and spell casting became so good that he is coming as first in all of his lessons and is doing even better than that know-it-all Granger. And that applied to potions as well. Although Potter didn't show the same level of work as potential potions master, he still obtained a very deep knowledge of potion making and ingredients in general. He observed that Potter began to prepare ingredients differently depending on the potion they were making, and was actually able to multi task and not be distracted by anything that was happening around. His written assignments also were the perfect amount with to the point information that made him put a good grade on it even if he was biased. He observed that Potter was more focused, his eyes clearer, and he understood everything that was said to him, not like before that when he was presented with a piece of new information his eyes would glaze and unfocus as if under the Imperius curse. It's as if a shroud has dispersed from his mind. Literally. When he was wandering in his mind before it was quite foggy though Severus never paid attention to that before.

One does not become so _intelligent_ , for the lack of better word, over the course of three months.

And then the way he looked more mature, gained heigh, his charisma, intelligence, sudden confidence, a little bit of cockiness and arrogance. It's almost like he became someone else. He was almost like his father, but at the same time he wasn't like him at all. James Potter was arrogant, cocky, with a smug face all the time but he wasn't overly intelligent or charismatic. James was just a bully. Whereas Harry Potter was also kind and caring, like Lily, and helped whenever he could. He suddenly became school's most popular student, almost like that position was waiting for him for all of this time and only waited for some key event to happen. Everyone loved him and wanted to be around him, and being wizarding world's celebrity, it was easy to understand though Severus expected that it would happen in the first year. But Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger with their attitude and behaviour were not allowing Harry to bloom and become popular like he was meant to be. Harry always seemed like puppy to Severus the way he agreed with everything Weasley and Granger and followed them around. It was good for him to finally get rid of them. But he was at a loss of what happened between Potter and Dumbledore.

But he also sensed and saw behind those glowing emerald eyes that there was something very dark within him, something that neither of his parents had. And it wasn't the same darkness that the Dark Lord, it was different. It was... forgiving, yet very cold. The Dark Lord's darkness behind his crimson eyes were unforgiving, malicious, and hot.

Severus suddenly stopped in his chase.

"The only other person apart from Potter and the Dark Lord who I've sensed something behind the eyes is Dumbledore," he wondered out loud "Dumbledore's is light and warm, the Dark Lord's is dark, unforgiving and hot. Potter's though..."

Severus resumed walking and doubled his pace.

And the most noticeable thing was Potter's magic, of course. He sensed that Potter's magic reserves increased so much that Severus couldn't actually see the end of it. It became so potent that Potter now required to use a staff and from what other Professors were telling, Potter had very good control over his magic as he always managed to cast the spells on the first try. Wandlessly. And on the rare occasions when he used his staff, like during the impromptu transfiguration duel, he showed a good aptitude with it which implied that he might have a teacher. But who was his teacher?

And of course you couldn't just dismiss the fact how it seems Potter unknowingly was leaking his magic out. It could be either because of of his poor control over his own magic, which is doubtful the way he can wandlessly cast, or because he has such huge reserves that any excess magic that he is generating just goes out of him. And Potter's magic was so intoxicating that you never would want to leave his presence. And it didn't help that the magic was potent. If Harry was to consciously direct his magic to someone in a non threatening manner and keep it pure then he shuddered to think what kind of effect it would be on magic sensitive people like him. He then wondered if students felt the magic too on at least intuitive level.

He also visited Petunia once and he didn't like what he saw form her memories. It seemed Harry was not as spoiled as he initially believed but at the same time he wondered why he never found any of the nasty memories in his mind during the first three years. Was it in self defence and the memories were just buried? He never cared to dig deeper. However, Snape was vindictively glad that the Dursleys were suffering from a sudden financial crisis.

So overall he didn't know what to think of the brat. Suddenly he turned from James' spawn he resented so much, into an intelligent, growing young man with eyes that looked like Lily's and sharp mind that he didn't know what to think of.

And that damned Sybill's prophecy still played in his mind that he couldn't decipher. The one with the ability to oppose and vanquish the lords... One with an unprecedented power... Magik has chosen as the seventh month died... Will be reborn as the eighth month blooms... Something happened with the brat on his birthday and during August, Severus concluded, and he knew for certain the prophecy was about Potter. It's always Potter. But he also knew that Potter would never tell him anything if he asked because of bad blood between them. But then again Severus had something that Potter would certainly want to hear and since the brat was acting more Slytherin, he believed Potter will think about the exchange of information. But the main question in Severus's head right now was if what he wanted to know from Potter equalled the information on the contents of the prophecy. Until he knew for sure, he won't approach the brat, Severus decided.

He heard some faint voices in front which means he finally caught up and it seems Karkaroff managed to get to Harry and talk about Merlin only knows what. There was a moment of silence before one of them started to quickly walk away. Severus turned around the corner and saw Karkaroff staring where Potter's hem of cloak disappeared behind the opposite corner of the fourth floor's hallway.

"Karkaroff!" he called out and swiftly approached the foreign Headmaster. Igor sluggishly turned around and Severus noted Karkaroff's slightly diluted pupils and small panting, almost like he tried to catch his breath after running a mile "What in Merlin's name did you do the boy? Answer me!" he hissed.

Karkaroff merely gave a toothy grin and said, his voice full of wonder "Merlin indeed..." his eyes then focused on Snape "It's not what I did to him, the right question would be 'what did he do to me?'"

Snape's eyes dangerously narrowed "Start making sense. Now."

"His magic is so intoxicating, isn't it? Surely you felt it too, both of us have the same talent. So powerful... So beautiful... And so cold. So very, very cold, his magic," Karkaroff closed his eyes "And yet the touch of his cold magic was as if being basked in sunlight... Yet so poisonous, so dark. So very, very dark. And forgiving. I feel so very, very blessed..." he muttered.

And Severus understood. The thing he thought about just moments before happened – Harry consciously basked Karkaroff in his magic leaving the man in a state of complete euphoria. Igor was even more sensitive to magic than he was, so being exposed to Potter's new powerful magic was like a drug to him. Severus chanced a glance down and sneered in disgust at Karkaroff's apparent arousal. Seems the man enjoyed Potter's magic a tad too much.

"Karkaroff! Snap out of it!"

"Mmm...Let me savour it a while longer..."

Severus grabbed Karkaroff by the collar and shoved him against the wall. Severus prayed that Harry was not aware the effect his magic had on Karkaroff and only did so in self defence.

"Karkaroff!" he loudly said and forcibly shook the man. Thankfully the hallway was deserted and it was one of the less known ways to the next floor so no one could intercept them.

Karkaroff finally opened his eyes and glared at Snape "You feel it too, don't you? You're scared."

"What are you talking about?" Severus cautiously asked trying to keep up with the man's sudden demeanour change.

The Durmstrang Headmaster proceeded with pulling his left sleeve back revealing a darkening dark mark tattooed on his left wrist "After a decade, the mark has appeared again. You know what it means! The Dark Lord is returning!"

Severus got very close to Karkaroff's face and hissed "It means nothing! You are just a coward who shakes in fear at any notion of the Dark Lord."

"I'm not a coward," Karkaroff angrily retorted and pushed Severus away from him "But I have good survival instincts and they are telling me that this is a sign! He is going to be back very soon and I don't know about you, but I have no wish to grovel at his feet any more. I, unlike you, have some pride left in me. I do not want to live my life in servitude!"

"Even if he was to return, the Dark Lord would find you anywhere you go and there would be repercussions for your betrayal!"

Karkaroff only smirked "But the game has changed, there are new players on the board."

"This is just a game for you?" Severus asked, still angry.

Ignoring his rhetoric question, Karkaroff continued "Potter has entered the field," Severus's eyes dangerously narrowed. He didn't like where this was going "His magic is so much like the Dark Lord's or Dumbledore's, is it not? And at the same time so very different. And the way he spoke, all pureblood and charming... It seems he doesn't seem eye to eye with Dumbledore either, and he would never support the Dark Lord, I assume. So which side will he chose? He won't be able to be neutral," Karkaroff then stepped around the stiff potions professor "Maybe we will get another side in the upcoming war? Another choice? But what would he represent, hmm?"

Severus sharply turned around to face Karkaroff as Sybill's words echoed in his mind

" _...shall lead the army of magic to war..._ "

"Don't be absurd!" Severus bit out harshly "He is but a boy!"

"He is more than a boy, Severus, and you know it," Karkaroff quickly responded "From what I've seen today he could easily make the whole school stand behind his back and that's a mini army of it's own. Who knows what kind of influence he might have out there, in the real world!"

"They are but children!"

"Greatness and power does not discriminate age. It just depends how you use it. You know the driving force behind magic – belief!" Karkaroff passionately said "If they believe in a cause then they will go on no matter what. It's the same with Death Eaters. Same with Dumbledore's followers. And you have to admit, Du- Mr Potter has the same charm as our two lords. People are drawn to powerful sorcerers!"

 _'...with the ability to oppose and vanquish the lords...'_

"This conversation is over, Karkaroff! I do not want to see you nowhere nearby Potter! And you better heed my words!"

"And why do you care so much about him?"

Snape merely ignored his words, turned around, and quickly stalked away with his robe billowing behind him. Karkaroff smirked, waited a bit to get more distance between him and Snape, and then walked away in the same direction back to the Durmstrang ship where the rest of the Durmstrang delegates were staying at.

* * *

The group of five friends quickly hid in the nearby classroom when they heard that the conversation was obviously over and that Snape was approaching where they were hiding behind a corner.

"Did one of them feel us?" Neville nervously asked. The conversation was completely not what they expected and took an unexpected turn. If Karkaroff or Snape caught them in the act, Neville shuddered to think what would happen to them.

"Of course not," Luna replied, her dreamy expression turning offended for a second before taking on the serene look again "If they felt us, we would have known from the start."

"Wow," both twins breathed out.

"That is not what I expected when we chased after Snape," Seamus agreed as he nervously scratched his cheek "I was hoping for something that we could use to start a funny rumour. But this..."

"Seems like our Potions Professor-

and Headmaster Karkaroff-

are Death Eaters. How do they even allow such people-

to teach at schools?" The twins wondered.

"That's not what troubles me," Neville said "According to them you-know-who is returning. But that shouldn't be possible, right? Harry defeated him, right?"

"No one knows what happened during that night," Lune piped in "Only that some ancient magic came into play. And they never found The Dark Lord's body."

"This is very scary," Seamus said and many agreed with him "But what Karkaroff said about Harry..."

"That he is like Dumbledore and you-know-who?" Neville asked.

Seamus nodded "Not only that. But about being the third side? That he could make a mini army from students?"

"The Dark Lord _will_ return," Luna said as she looked at each of her closest friends "And Harry _will_ be a part of the upcoming war. But he won't be on the light or dark side."

"What side is he going to be on then?" Fred asked.

"Magic," Luna simply answered "And he already has people loyal to him so amassing followers is not gonna be a big deal for someone like Harry."

"Magic?" George asked "Are you a seer, Luna? Always wanted to ask. You just seem to know things."

Luna cocked her head to the side "I might have some seer blood in me, but I do not possess seer abilities."

"And I must agree with Harry having some loyal people... The whole Gryffindor house is very protective of him. And I've seen Malfoy going around and calling Harry 'My Lord'. I wonder what that is about..."

"Either way Karkaroff is right. Harry is very powerful and everyone likes him," Seamus said with a smile "Remember what Snape said when we were chasing him? It is said that eyes are the mirror of the soul. If eyes have unearthly glow then the wizard must be exceptionally powerful," everyone fell silent for a moment "If it is as Luna said and he will be fighting for magic then... I don't know."

"We are his best friends now-

and we can only support him-

we will cross the bridge about war-

when we come to it," twins chorused.

"At least we are warned about the Dark Lord's apparent return even if we don't know for sure as it was coming from one man," Neville said "Which means that if he really returns then there is going to be another war. We should tell someone!"

"No one will believe us," Seamus said "For now, we have to wait. And lets see what kind of person Harry is."

"But we already know what kind of person he is," Luna said with a bright smile and everyone agreed. Finally everything was coming together!

"We should talk with Harry," Neville said and everyone looked at him "We are his closest friends so we should tell him what we just learned. Maybe... maybe he will know more?"

"Brilliant idea, Neville!" Luna said and everyone nodded. It would be better to tell Harry because they knew that Harry hated to be kept in the dark and this seemed like very important information.

"We can tell him tomorrow at lunch break, all of us have some free time," Seamus agreed.

"It's a plan then. But now-

we should get going as it is getting late." Fred finished and they agreed.

The group of five left the classroom and the way back to their dorms was in comfortable silence as each of them pondered over what they just learnt and what that could mean for them and the future.

* * *

 _-some time before-_

Ron and Hermione rushed after the group of five in hopes of eavesdropping and gaining something that they could use against them.

Over the last month Ron's jealousy didn't lessen a single bit, quite the contrary – it only got bigger if that was even possible. Suddenly Harry got so independent, surrounded by so many people, dressing in finest of clothes. In the previous years Ron was Harry's whole world and Ron loved the way he could manipulate the green eyed boy, just like Dumbledore said, but now... Now it was like Ron didn't exist and it was driving the redhead mad. He had something that his brothers never achieved – complete trust of a celebrity that would share with him anything just for a friendship, but now it was gone. Ron just couldn't handle it.

Hermione was no better in a way. She loved her intelligence and she honestly thought that there was no one smarter than her. And it felt wonderful that she could flaunt that intelligence into someone's face and they still would remain their friend. And then suddenly Harry changed – he got much more smarter and more powerful than her and he was no longer impressed by her intelligence and neither did he need her help any more. She lost a friend though deep within she asked herself 'was he a friend, really? Or someone you could safely flaunt your knowledge at?'. And now with Harry gone she suddenly didn't know what to do. She knew she couldn't do the same with Ron as he would leave her immediately so she has resigned to follow him around and try to make Harry's life harder. And she partially agreed with Ron – Harry's sudden change was the cause of losing her only form of entertainment that wasn't studying.

And so the duo hoped that they could use whatever they learnt now from following the five people to reduce Harry's popularity. So that when everyone would abandon him, Harry would come back running to them and would be accepted with open arms. Of course, Harry will need to share the riches and stuff with them. Ron and Hermione genuinely resented Harry's five new best friends.

They were on the second floor now and they were about to start ascending the third floor but a haughty voice behind the duo stopped them.

"My, my, isn't that rich? Weasel and mudblood know-it-all looking for a broom closet? There was one on the first floor, you know?"

Ron and Hermione turned around, a scowl and a blush on their faces, and saw that it was Malfoy and his usual two brute body guards.

"Sod off, Malfoy, we don't have time for your insults!" Ron angrily retorted.

Draco smirked. He noticed how those two sped after Harry's friends and suspected that they were planning something foul and he wouldn't have none of that. He didn't think Duke Emrys would appreciate if those two meddled with his friends. And it was so easy to rile up Ron it was actually fun "Why, can't keep yours stiff long enough? I of course knew you're pathetic, but this is on a whole new level. But then again, I'm not surprised about mudblood's choices."

Ron's whole face became as red as his hair and his hand trembled in rage "Shut it! You trying to be all mighty and self-important when you yourself lick Potter's ground wherever he goes as if he is second coming of Merlin," Draco's eyes narrowed though he snorted at the mention of Merlin. Ron took it as a confirmation and continued "Oh yes, I've noticed the way you look at Potter. The reverence. The fear. 'My Lord this, My Lord that'. Whole school is thinking you're his bitch!"

That was very unexpected from Ron but Draco knew for a fact that no one actually thinks that. He has close ties with Pansy and she is one of school's most hardcore gossip girls. If something of the like ever left someone's lips then Pansy would tell him straight away. And he is always subtle when he addressed Duke Emrys though he should compliment Ron on his observation skills. Not like he is gonna do that out loud, ever.

"You are very bad liar, Weasley," Draco said "I have first hand knowledge about any new rumours so I know for a fact that is not true. And unlike me, you just don't know who Potter really is," Draco then took a mock thoughtful expression with his right hand on his chin "I bet his new _best_ friends know all about it."

"Or maybe the whole school," Goyle said said.

"I wonder if that's why everyone loves him so much." Crabbe added.

Draco looked at his two companions quite surprised not expecting them to speak up. Both of them usually are silent but Draco knew that they were loyal to him to a fault so he explained them his behaviour towards Harry back on the train and they just accepted it. But he had to commend them on the fast thinking – it would rile up the due even more since it was quite obvious that Weasel and Granger were jealous.

"Who Potter really is?" Granger asked "What do you mean?"

"Well if he didn't tell you then it's not my place to spill his secrets," Draco answered. He just needed more time now, so he changed the subject before anyone could say anything "But you know, Granger, I always wanted to ask – how does it feel now to be second best to someone you considered mediocre?" Hermione didn't answer but he saw her face reddening even more "I mean, if a mediocre wizard could achieve the first place in all of his classes then what does it make you? Less than mediocre? And how does it feel that you can't safely push your own less than mediocre intelligence on someone anymore? You're managing to hold it inside yourself quite well but how long until you burst and you lose Weasley here as well? What then?"

Draco smirked with a sadistic glee when he saw Granger was on the verge of tears. Seems he struck a painful note and it was indeed the mudblood's fears.

"Shut the hell up, Malfoy! Can't you see you're upsetting her?" Ron shouted as he brandished his wand and pointed at Malfoy.

"Well that was the whole point. Slow as ever, Weasley."

His anger reached the bursting point as Ron shouted " _Diffindo_!" and swiped his wand sending a cutting charm towards Malfoy.

Draco, however, was quite relaxed as there was no need of getting his wand – Goyle managed to raise a quick shield and deflected the spell. There was another spell ready to escape Ron's wand but someone behind him was faster.

" _Expelliarmus_!" and Ron's wand flew from his hand which Severus Snape swiftly caught in his arms "What is the meaning of this?"

Draco quickly said before Weasley could open his mouth to complain "We saw that Weasley and Granger were trying to subtly leave the great hall which looked quite suspicious so we decided to investigate what are they up to. After all, as we all know from the past they have the tendency to cause mischief. We managed to catch up with them but as you saw, Weasley decided to throw spells at me which means they really were up to something."

Snape nodded "20 points from Gryffindor, each. And detention tomorrow at 7pm sharp!"

"But-" Ron was cut off by Snape

"You will do as you've been said. Now come along, I will escort you all back to the great hall where I will return your wand."

Without waiting for a reply he quickly continued his way to the great hall and everyone didn't have much choice but to follow him. Granger was strangely silent and Ron was glaring daggers at him, but Draco didn't care. What he did care about, however, was how tired his godfather suddenly looked. He was fine some minutes ago during the feast, and now it seemed as if he was brewing difficult potions for the entire day. He decided to ask what happened later when he will have more time alone with his godfather.

* * *

Harry, meanwhile, was wondering why did he have such an effect on Karkaroff and if it would be possible to somehow exploit it for his own needs. After all, the man was a former Death Eater and must have had an extensive knowledge on dark magic that Harry wished to experiment with. Besides, Karkaroff was also Headmaster of a prominent Bulgarian wizarding school and it would be nice to have someone so influencing under his control, on his side.

Harry then shook his head, what was he talking about – control, sides? Still he found the idea of playing with the man's apparent sensitivity to his magic quite amusing. And he still wondered what Karkaroff wanted from his but unfortunately they were interrupted by someone. Harry mentally shrugged, he will learn eventually.

Deep in thought he turned around another corner on the sixth floor's hallway and almost ran into Sybill who startled him by her sudden appearance and even made him jump a bit.

"Good evening, Duke Emrys."

Harry stared wide eyed at Sybill. Why didn't he feel her? And how did she know?

Sybill peered through her thick glasses at Harry and said "Magic can't sense someone whose magical presence lives out of the time line. Know what?"

Did she read his mind? Harry tightened his mental defences a notch.

"Unlike you, I do not posses any skill at legilimency," She sniffed disdainfully "Who needs it anyway when you have the Inner Eye."

Harry incredulously stared at Sybill, he had never seen this side of her and quite honestly he didn't know how to react.

"Uh, Professor-"

"It's quite a pity that you left the Divination," Trelawney sadly said "While you didn't have any skill at divination, you were my main source of amusement. There are so many different time lines where you are the force of change. Why, in some of them you're even you-know-who's consort!"

Yes, definitely batty if she thought that is amusing.

Sybill's eyes then sharpened and she grinned quite a bloodthirsty grin that made Harry wary and tighten the grip on his staff.

"Whatever you gonna do, I want in, Duke Emrys," do what, Harry silently asked "You will have what you-know-who or Dumbledore never had and never will have in this time line – a seer!" Sybill's eyes then glazed over again and she looked at Harry as if she was seeing him for the first time "Ooooh! Duke Emrys! How nice to see you! Such an honour!" her eyes then focused again and her voice took on a silky, if a bit sarcastic, tone "Do what? Well I don't know, I'm not you! But something great, of course! It's always something great, all the Harry Potters do something great. Because you always have the power that the Dark Lord knows not! And we kind of grew tired of just watching! We want action! But more importantly, redeemed, redeemed, huh? We want redemption! We stand with you. Hohoo!"

There was definitely something wrong going on with Sybill and Harry was quite creeped out.

"Your flashy ring is a big give-away for your title as Duke Emrys and Magik's Chosen, my dear boy, but then again so is your unprecedented power," Sybill drawled and Harry's eyes widened. There was that Magik's Chosen title again! It seemed that maybe Sybill indeed possessed some sort of abilities that allowed her to see and Harry's eyes narrowed. How much did she _actually_ see? "As a sign of good will, My Lord," Harry's eyes widened at the title "A little bit of advice?" her eyes lost focus again and it seemed like she was looking through Harry, into the distance. There was a moment of silence and Harry was about to speak up when Sybill started talking, this time with kind of dreamy face and voice that he saw so often on Luna "A week after your name comes out of the Goblet, you should visit the Forbidden Forest with your invisibility cloak. Hmm, hmm, yes, yes, those are always consistent," she then swiftly took off her thick glasses and invaded Harry's personal space getting real close to his face and glared at Harry, pure anger radiating from the apparently mad seer. And Harry also saw that her pupils had tiny swirly dots in them making the pupil look like tiny galaxies in Sybill's eyes "And you know what else is consistent?" she hissed and Harry was too shocked at the sudden change to say anything "Alastor Bloody Moody who is not so Moody in the end! HA! If we skin him, I wonder what Crouch would say, hmm?" She then quickly retreated back and was quietly murmuring something under her breath about polygamous relationships and even biting her nails.

She then quickly looked up "Read up on wizarding laws and perfect your pureblood persona. An eagle and an owl will come on Samhain," afterwards Sybill screeched "What do you mean you don't know what Magik's Chosen is?" she then whispered "Oh, right. But I can't tell you."

The seer turned around and started to walk off and Harry was about to stop her to ask more about being this 'Chosen'. Before he could even make a step, Sybill turned around and said "Seek out the Heart of Hogwarts, it has some of the answers. Where? The thrice damned room where you lot plan all the shenanigans. That's also consistent," Sybill started to walk away while muttering something along the lines of "Now where did I misplace my skooma? Skooooma. No, wait. It's called different here..." and she disappeared behind the opposite corner leaving echo of faint murmurs behind.

"That was very weird, My Lord," a portrait said on Harry's left that made him jump.

Harry nodded as he was still owlishly blinking and trying to comprehend what the hell just happened "Tell me about it."

That was definitely so very out of character, and it seemed Sybill had finally lost her mind, and yet Harry had a feeling it was much more than just that. Who was 'we' that she referred to? And those warnings and advices were very precise, not unlike anything that Sybill has said before and yet his gut feeling told him to trust her words.

With tonight's two unexpected meeting heavy on his mind, he resumed his way to the seventh floor. He should've taken the shortcut, he thought.

But he knew for certain that he is not going to look at Sybill the same way again, as she looked downright dangerous at some moments, and is not going to underestimate her ever again either.

* * *

After repairing his office, Albus Dumbledore sat down behind his ancient desk, interlocked his fingers and contemplated what to do next.

Everything went to hell starting with that blasted meeting at the beginning of August when Potter disappeared Merlin knows where. All the wards on Privet Drive fell, and with them his own charms, and Albus started to fear that Harry was starting to recover from their effects. He's lost all the health, magic, and location tracking charms, and there was no way he can recast them without making Harry aware. Thankfully those stupid goblins haven't realised yet of the not so legal gold transfer so at least not everything was ruined.

Albus stood up and approached the phoenix again who was looking at him with sad, loving eyes.

"What to do, what to do," Albus mused out loud as he stroked the bird's feathers.

" _Drop dead!_ "

"Perhaps," Albus responded to the beautiful singing.

And today at the welcoming feast it was total disaster as well. While it was true that they all agreed to reveal the goblet on the 30th of October, he purposefully revealed it at the beginning of the September so that more Hogwarts students could enter the tournament and it would also give him, and perhaps some other students as well, more time to try to sabotage the goblet as to give Hogwarts more advantage. Thankfully he, of course, was wise enough to mask his magic when he did his attempts so he was confident those Potter's goblins won't find anything that could be tracked back to him.

Still, he didn't expect anyone to speak up and interrupt him during his welcoming speech, it has never happened before. He was so angry at Malfoy and Potter that he was at the point of expelling them both. He will need to act carefully as he is going to be under close scrutiny of both Karkaroff and Maxime.

However, he didn't like how Potter behaved. It reminded him very much of one Tom Riddle – the perfect grades, the perfect charm, a little bit of arrogance, quick wit, and the way almost the whole student body loved him. While Riddle became popular mainly in Slytherin and only in later years, Potter on the other hand reached his popularity literally within a month and through the entire school. Potter's leaking magic could be a cause for it as many people suddenly were attracted to the boy like moths to flame.

Potter's magic, Albus frowned. It suddenly expanded beyond what Albus ever expected it to be, and it also was incredibly potent if Potter suddenly required a staff. It only meant that all his blocks were removed and he didn't like that one bit. He needed a martyr who he could control and use as a tool of Light, not a rising false Dark Lord. He was given a mission by Magik itself and he will be damned if he won't fulfill it and claim his rightful spot as Lord of Magic.

Albus absolutely hated how it was by Potter's hand that the Dark Lord was vanquished and he damned Sybill for ever making that prophecy. Thankfully the Dark Lord was not fully gone so Albus still had the chance to claim the victory over the Dark. The only thing that puzzled him was why did Magik picked another champion when he was already picked. But he guessed it was to test his dedication and prowess.

And he needed Harry Potter for that as the boy held Tom's Horcrux. He needed Harry to die by Tom's hand so that he can finish off the Dark Lord himself. But for that he needed the boy weak and meek, like the first three years of in his Hogwarts education. He needed Potter to have hero complex, to die and help for everyone he needed. And it didn't help that the portraits or ghosts suddenly became so uncooperative and claimed that they couldn't find the boy when he was outside the dorms or public eyes. They never had problem before on spying on him so he will need to investigate that.

Albus was a bit vary that Harry became very independent and he hoped that Harry was still unaware of all the things he did to the boy. But then again, he shouldn't worry. No one but him knew of all the things he has done to ensure complete control and trust of the boy and Albus still believed he could get him under his wing. Maybe offer him a false mentorship if his name was picked out of the goblet? He made sure that his will be picked.

"Or maybe one of his friends?" Headmaster mused.

" _You won't dare!_ " Phoenix sang before suddenly bursting in flames and disappearing.

Albus was quite surprised about Phoenix's sudden disappearance but he only smiled at his antic's. Phoenixes were such magnificent creatures.

Now, what would be the best way to do it, Albus wondered. He contemplated using Ron, but the jealous boy was quite useless and won't even understand the simplest orders. Hermione on the other hand... Hmm, she will do. But who should he target for the maximum effect? Luna? Or Maybe Seamus? Neville, hmm?

Albus popped a lemon drop in his mouth from one of his hidden stashes in desk's drawers and started jotting down a note.

* * *

Harry panted as he finished his magic experiment and he grinned. He was very happy at the end of almost every session as he always made some at least some progress in his exercises and magic experiments.

He willed the Room to fix all the damage he did in the past hour or so and to change into a living room setting where he could meditate a bit and relax. The Room then slowly turned from a training ground with dummies into a comfortable small room with a couch, table, and burning fireplace that radiated some warmth. Harry then remembered Sybill's words.

"Heart of Hogwarts?" Harry mused. Sybill also said that he will be able to find the 'Heart', whatever it is, in this room though he was confused as to why she cursed it.

Harry then closed they eyes and wished for the room to show the Heart of Hogwarts. He felt something prickle his thumb and when he opened his eyes in confusion he saw a drop of blood escape the finger and connect with the floor. Immediately all the furniture and fireplace, the carpet and all the nice setting disappeared and the whole room was painted scarlet.

The falls flashed white and remained so, blinding Harry for a second and forcing him to close his eyes. When he reopened them he stood in what seemed in vast, never-ending white space that in reality was only a small room painted pure white. Opposite Harry stood an empty stone pedestal.

The young Emrys stepped forward and immediately there was a startling flash of fire which contrasted the white, and now the pedestal was occupied by Fawkes.

Harry blinked – when he asked for the Heart of Hogwarts he definitely didn't expect Fawkes to appear.

"Fawkes?" Harry asked cautiously. He was Dumbledore's phoenix after all and he didn't want the bird to tell Dumbledore what he was up to.

" _Yo, twat!_ " Fawkes greeted and Harry incredulously looked at the phoenix. While he was aware that he could understand magic languages, he didn't expect that he would also understand creatures. And it was a bizarre experience for Harry to hear musical singing and words within them at the same time " _And don't worry mate, I won't tell the old sucker what you are up to. He doesn't understand me anyway, the dumbass,_ " and that was even more bizarre, Harry decided, to hear beautiful singing coupled with somewhat vulgar words.

"Okay," Harry responded "What are you doing here?"

Fawkes looked Harry in the eye and then he burst into flames again and where he once stood there was now a middle aged man of medium physical build, around his 30ies with short, dark hair, stubble, and genuinely twinkling, green eyes that were not as bright as Harry's but were on the darker side. The man was donned in loose, long white robes and nothing else.

"Greetings," He simple said with a thick Scottish accent.

"Hello," Harry greeted back and then they proceeded staring at each other. The man was unmoving and could be easily be mistaken for a statue if not for a pulse of magic that he radiated at certain intervals. Harry focused on the dark haired man in front of him and tried to feel up his magic more closely. It felt the same as Hogwarts in the sense that it was very easily overlooked, but it felt more alive. And there was something deep down in the man's magic that Harry couldn't quite place but he felt that before somewhere. Harry finally decided to break the silence "Who are you?"

"I do not remember," the main simply replied, blankly staring at Harry.

"You don't know who you are?"

"No."

"But I asked for the Heart of Hogwarts and then Fawkes appeared. And then he turned into you. Are you Fawkes's human form?"

"I am not Fawkes."

"Are you Heart of Hogwarts?"

This time the man smiled "Yes, I am Heart of Hogwarts."

"Then who- What are you, really?"

"I am Heart of Hogwarts."

"What is your purpose?"

"To beat for Hogwarts. I am Life."

"What is your name?"

"I am called Heart of Hogwarts."

Harry swore in annoyance. "Who _were_ you?"

The man then cocked his head to a side "I do not know. I cannot remember."

"You can't remember _who_ you were... It could imply that you weren't the Heart from the beginning..."

"Perhaps," the man allowed.

"Have you _always_ been Heart of Hogwarts?"

"No," came the definite answer.

"Who- I mean, what _were_ you before?"

"A person. A human," the man hesitated then "I think."

"How did you come to life?"

"I do not know."

"Are you even a living being?"

"Yes. I am Heart of Hogwarts. I am here, I speak to you. I beat, I live, I go on. And the castle is still standing here. Strong and proud. Tall and sturdy. As long as I live, so do the wards; So does the forest. So does the magic. I am Heart of Hogwarts."

They pair fell into silence then and Harry contemplated his questions. The last answer was much more detailed than to his previous questions which may mean that to get a good answer, you need to ask the right question.

So Harry tried "What do you do as a heart in relation to Hogwarts' sentience?"

The man finally showed a positive emotion by giving Harry a brief smile before answering "I collect the magic from all around the Hogwarts – the forest, the town, the ley lines, and from the castle itself. I bring it to one focus point. Compress, convert, connect. I distribute the magic throughout the castle. Each pulse of me is pump of magic; each beat is another compression, conversion, connection. I am Heart of Hogwarts. I beat for Hogwarts. I am its' Life."

Harry nodded and he looked amazed at the man in front of him. This... being, for the lack of better word, was what sustained the castle's sentience. The Blood Ward faded away because there was nothing that could support it, but Hogwarts had a heart. It was indeed marvelous and Harry actually now understood what that pulsating feeling originating from the man was.

"Ley lines?"

Silence.

"What are ley lines?"

"Ley lines are the natural magic veins of the Earth that originate from Earth's core."

He will need to look up those later on or see if his untapped knowledge has some information on the ley lines. Harry finally asked the main question for which he called the Heart in the first place "What is Magik's Chosen?"

"It is someone who has chosen by Magik."

Harry pinched his nose bridge in exasperation. "What does it mean to be Magik's Chosen?"

After a moment of silence, the man replied "It can mean many things. Or none at all. It depends on the person."

Young Emrys thought for a bit and then asked "What are Magik's Chosen primary duties?"

"Magik's Chosen primary duties are to follow the path and purpose they have chosen. But at the same time they are Magik's champions and their actions can heavily influence the balance of magic. Their primary duty is to not let the magic deteriorate."

Harry's eyes widened, his actions can influence the balance of magic itself?

"What is the balance of magic?"

"A balance of magic is when all aspects of magic are balanced."

That was so irritating, Harry thought. "What are the aspects of magic and in what way can they influence the balance of magic, and what is the result and consequences when one aspect is unbalanced?"

"There is the Light aspect of magic, and the Dark. Usually they are in balance but sometimes something happens and one aspect tips over the other one making an imbalance. As a result, magic suffers and so does everyone who has magic in them. If we take, for example, Light aspect tipping over the dark. The consequence would be that those wizards and creatures with darker cores will suffer as they are going to be weaker, which ultimately can result in the birth of squibs. The same applies for the Light aspect if the roles are reversed."

Harry was shocked. Is that the reason why squibs were born in magical families? Because of the imbalance? "And so when the magic is imbalanced, Magik chooses someone who will balance everything out?"

Man shook his head "Not precisely."

"How does the magic balance itself out then?"

"By assigning a Lord to the aspect which is weaker."

"So if Light aspect of magic got weaker as a result of the dark side's actions, then the Light magic aspect will choose a Lord to balance out the dark," getting no reply Harry added "Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"So I assume Dumbledore is the Light Lord and Voldemort, of course, is the Dark Lord. Both of them chosen by aspects of magic..." he then looked up to the Heart of Hogwarts and asked "Does it mean that aspects of magic act separately from the Magik itself?"

"Yes, but not quite."

"What is Magik, exactly? And what is relationship between Magik and the aspects?" Harry dumbly asked. He should've looked it up at the first opportunity after hearing the title of 'Magik's Chosen'.

"Magik is an entity, some even call it a goddess, who governs over magic. It is said that Magik is mother of magic. The aspects are Magik's two faces, if you can call it that. They act independently from each other, but they are extension of Magik itself. It is speculated that they were created so that Magik would have easier time managing all that is magical."

"Okay, I think I'm getting it. Then if the aspects look after the balance, why was I chosen by Magik itself when there are already two Lords for each aspect?"

"One aspect could be influenced too much with a presence of a Lord when said Lord doesn't know when to stop. In that case the opposite aspect would also choose a Lord to balance out the Lord of the opposite aspect resulting in two Lords. Sometime it works out and that is enough to balance each other out, but sometimes it does not work out resulting in constant shift of magic aspects which more often than not ends up in what is called the chaos effect. Magik steps in then and chooses someone who would represent the magic as a whole. A third side, so to speak. Eventually, the chosen one would become the Lord of Magic."

"Can't Magik just strip someone from the title of a Lord? And you mean there has been chosen ones before?"

The man thought about the answer for a second, still unmoving and staring at Harry until he spoke "Indeed, Magik can strip Lords of their positions but that wouldn't change anything. Yes, there have been three Magik's Chosen in recorded history."

"Why wouldn't it change anything? And what were their names?"

"Because those Lords already have big influence on both magic and people that they can use. While they would be stripped of some privileges, it wouldn't help to balance out the magic. If anything, the state of magic would only worsen with a loss of two Lords and you are not ready yet to take on the burden of whole magic. The Lords need to be defeated normal way," small pause "The first one was Myrddin Emrys, the name of the second on eludes the eyes of the history and magic, and the third one are you, Harrison Emrys. Both you and the previous chosen are descendants of Emrys."

So he got more or less the same answer that he got from goblins. Suddenly, he felt a huge burden on his shoulders and he closed his eyes to process the information he just received. He felt a hand on his shoulder that made him gasp and open his eyes in surprise. The man quickly removed the hand and Harry deflated – at that one moment when the man touched him he felt so complete, so free. Almost as if for a second he existed beyond normal human comprehension. The magic that ran through him was immense but also carried big sadness.

"I apologise," the man said "I wanted to be comforting and I was not aware that your ability as the chosen one is already manifesting," before Harry could ask what he meant, the man knelt down in looked straight into Harry's eyes with a sense of worry, but his words came out comforting and gentle and Harry was quite surprised as voice-wise the man didn't express any emotions so far "Do not feel burdened or troubled, child. You don't have to do anything as the chosen one but follow your own ideals. and path, and beliefs. Never feel pressured, for Magik loves you as if you were her own child. Please just live your life as you would see fit. Make the choices that would make you happy. Follow the path that you fervently believe in. Do these things and Magik will be happy. But now you must go, it's getting really late and your friends are worried for you. But Fawkes is always ready to respond to your call."

Harry couldn't help but relax at these words as he gave the man a tentative smile. He said "Thank you. But how do you know all of these things, who are you?"

The man has stepped back and regained his previous attitude as if what he had just done never happened "I do not know. I am Heart of Hogwarts."

Harry nodded and then willed the room to give him an exit. As he was leaving the endless white room and closing the door he saw Fawkes flash out.

The meeting was very interesting and revealing for Harry but it raised just as many questions as it provided answers.

Ley lines, the Heart, chosen ones, Lords of aspects, the chaos effect, Lord of Magic, the balance, the future...

Harry slowly made his way back to dorms after he checked it was already past the curfew, while contemplating what he should do now. He now had a small concept of what it meant to be the Chosen one, but he needed to know more. Which means he will need to read even more books, delve even deeper into his knowledge. The Dark Lord was the Dark aspect's chosen one so surely the man has done at least some research on the subject.

Young Emrys thought if maybe sorting out magic's balance should be his aim and goal in life as his new fancy title suggested. After all, his current aim of being 'Great' and be like his ancestors was rather broad, although from other side all the Magik's Chosen ones were from Emrys line so if he was to follow in his ancestors' footsteps it meant acting up on his role as the chosen one.

He wasn't sure if he liked the title yet. In his opinion it was given to him, not earned, but at the same time it was so much more different than the title of the boy-who-lived.

He put the thought to the side for now. He needed information first. But now, sleep. Too much weird thing happening tonight, too many revelations. Harry was mentally exhausted and all he wanted to do was for the blackness of sleep to take him and alleviate all the worries and questions for the night.

* * *

 **Update: wow guys, you gotta chill out a bit about possible pairing. So far 'No' is in majority so there's no need to all go batshit crazy. Is it really that hard to keep your cool when faced with something you really like and wait for the poll results? Jesus xD**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, readers! I decided that I wanna do a quick update before I'm off to holidays in few hours, so here's the next chapter in the story. It's a bit rushed and small too, but at least I've covered a big event. Promise that next chapter will have more action and is gonna be much longer!**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 10

Several weeks have passed since the arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegates and those were quite hectic weeks for Harry.

When the goblins arrived to check the goblet it turned out that there were traces of several attempts of sabotaging made on the precious artefact. It was also revealed that one of the attempts was actually successful and was "expertly cast on the goblet", as the goblins said. All eyes turned to Dumbledore, who was present at the inspection, but he managed to talk his way out of it, claiming that he is not such a dishonest person. From those present it seemed that only Madam Maxime somewhat believed Dumbledore. It was unfortunate that the inspection wasn't an open event and was done only in the presence of several professors, Dumbledore, Karkaroff, Maxime, and the goblins. And even if Bladenail told Harry what happened, it wasn't the same as being there in person but Harry didn't complain. When asked what was the nature of the spell cast, goblins said it was some charm that would confuse the goblet and thus allow multiple copies of the same name to be submitted. The charm was safely removed and then further protections on the goblet made. During the evening of that day students were allowed to put their names again.

Only a handful Hogwarts students put their name as everyone else already had plenty of time to put theirs. When asked why the twins didn't try putting their name, they said that they didn't have enough time to brew a perfect ageing potion that would theoretically allow them to pass the age restriction charm. Harry then apologised because it was of him that Hogwarts won't be able to submit any other students, though Harry let it slip that his exact wording was "no one representing Hogwarts could enter" which means as long as they put, say, 'representing Weasleys' instead of Hogwarts then technically the goblet should allow the name to be submitted. When Harry said that the twins were overjoyed and hurried to complete their potion.

On the same day Harry's friends told him the conversation they overheard between Karkaroff and Snape and Harry was actually shocked at what he learned. If the Dark Lord was indeed coming back then he is going to come after him and Harry doubled his training efforts in hopes of opposing someone who was much more experienced than him. After all, Karkaroff was right – he would never follow Voldemort, and he would never follow Dumbledore. Especially after learning about the balance. As Magik's Chosen he had a sense of duty and pride that refused any thought of following any of the two Lords. Besides he knew he would hate to follow and be just a sheep in their war between the dark and the light that has been on for too long.

His friends told him that they weren't sure about the war yet and where are they going to stand because they didn't know what Harry is going to fight for. When asked, Harry said he is going to fight for Magic and that made everyone look at Luna who just cryptically smiled. However, he was not able to elaborate as he didn't know what that entails, exactly. And Harry still didn't know what he felt about being the 'possible third side'. His friends expressed their support nonetheless.

After that, Harry invited the group of five to the Room of Requirements where he revealed his lordship that shocked everyone bar Luna, who was already calling him 'My Lord' from time to time. Apparently she already knew. Harry said that she might be a seer as she has the same presence (or lack thereof) as Sybill, and just knows things. He quoted what Sybill said "magic can't sense someone whose magical presence lives out of the time line" and he explained that he can never sense Luna. Luna, on the other hand, just shrugged and denied the possibility of being a seer.

After he revealed his status as descendant of Merlin, he started inviting friends to his session. When asked why the sudden invite, he reasoned that they are his closest friends now and he would rather be damned than allow his friends to be unprepared in the possible, coming war. He said that if Voldemort (plus flinching) indeed is coming back then he would undoubtedly target his friends to get at Harry and Hogwarts curriculum was not exactly suitable to train for combat situations. All six people benefited from the training – Seamus, Neville, Luna, and the twins were somewhat tutored by Harry who had an extensive and surprising magic knowledge and participated in their warm up that left them exhausted but stronger, while Harry himself finally had living humans to have friendly duels with. His five friends, of course, were amazed at what Harry could accomplish with his magic.

When talking about other people, then it was quite funny especially now when Harry realised about his leaking magic. He experimented by focusing it on different people and he got different reactions – some people were not affected by it at all, while some would stare at Harry harder and pay more attention. But no one had the same reaction as Karkaroff, so Harry made an educated guess that it doesn't really depend on his magic. Rather on how sensitive the person is to magic in general.

And Karkaroff was another thing, Harry thought with a smirk as he was aware of Karkaroff's time in the hallway was not a fluke. Harry took great amusement from focusing his magic on the Durmstrang Headmaster when they were in close proximity to each other, for example during meal times. Harry always was sitting the closes to the Head table. It was funny to see how Karkaroff would suddenly gasp, stop talking, and grasp the table to support himself, or he would start stuttering, and almost every professor would always ask if he was alright. Or maybe when they were passing each other in hallway and Harry did the thing with his magic and Karkaroff would stumble in the unexpected shock. One would think that he would get used to sudden magic influx, but it still got the man every time.

Snape, it seemed, was aware of what Harry was doing and was giving him painful glares.

Harry tried the same thing with Snape and got in return dangerously narrowed eyes. Of course, Harry was approached by the snarky professor straight away. Snape's cloak was billowing behind him as usual, making him look like a menacing cardinal of old though his voice was missing the usual sarcastic drawl. Instead, it was an angry hiss "I know what you are doing and you should cease it immediately. Your magic does not work on me like it does on Karkaroff!"

Harry merely raised an elegant eyebrow and doubled the magic that he was aiming at the man. Snape sucked in a breath and clenched his fists, but otherwise looked unaffected. Seems like Snape wasn't as sensitive as Karkaroff so he promised that he won't do that to Snape any more but can't promise anything about Karkaroff because it was just that amusing.

Sybill was the worst. Since the talk in the hallway she made an effort to dine in the great hall and sometimes even seemed sane, which surprised many a professor, especially McGonagall. But what was the creepiest was that she would randomly pop up seemingly out of nowhere when Harry was alone, give some cryptic messages and then disappear. Or sometimes not say anything at all but just stare at Harry with her unblinking eyes, nod, and walk away.

And Harry still couldn't sort out if what Sybill said about Moody was a warning or a joke. "Moody but not so Moody." Still, Professor Moody was giving off a bad vibe so he asked the ghosts and portraits to keep an eye on him. He also visited the kitchens and met all the elves who were overjoyed to finally meet castle owner. Apparently there wasn't one in centuries. After the excited elves calmed down (if that was possible), he asked them the same thing he asked the ghosts and the portraits and then was revealed that Alastor Moody doesn't allow elves to clean his rooms and he does all that himself. That was quite shady, Harry admitted, and it was already past "Constant vigilance."

Speaking of elves, Harry employed Dobby and even Winky (courtesy of Dobby) to his service and even though Winky looked like incapable of working because of her state of depression, Harry still bonded with Winky and that made her very happy. Automatically they were donned in a black uniform with purple rim and Emrys house crest on the upper left chest. After that Harry contacted all the other dozen or so elves in his service and told them to start rebuilding the Emrys castle. He told them to work together with the goblins and if they ever needed anything then to contact Bladenail in Gringotts.

Harry also visited Hagrid and talked with the giant a bit though it was hard as he was always praising Dumbledore every other sentence and when Harry said that Dumbledore might not be such a Saint, Hagrid got offended. However, the visit revealed that Hagrid is cross breeding some creatures but he "can't say" for what reason. "For nuthin'" he says. Which means it was quite important and Harry guessed it was for the tournament. Trust Hagrid to unintentionally spill the beans.

And then there was Ginny. At one of the Hogsmeade weekends Ginny actually collected all her courage and asked Harry out on a date, which Harry politely declined. The Weasley girl was for some reason deeply offended and after the incident joined Ron in badmouthing Harry and young Emrys couldn't understand what her problem was.

Harry noticed that Hermione distanced herself from Ron and was studying even harder than before, something that Ron was obviously unhappy about. Harry also saw the way Hermione was looking at his usual group of friends and he didn't like that look – it's as if the girl was on a mission and was determined to see it through. After a subtle and quick legilimency sweep it revealed that she was planning something nasty for of them. The girl itself wasn't sure what yet, but it was supposed to be a potion. That prompted Harry to create runic, defensive bracelets for his friends that would inform the wearer when there was something mixed in their drinks or food, and if consumed then it would try to fight or slow the effects of potion/poison. Of course, Harry first presented it to the Runes teacher to get extra marks for his final grade before passing it to his friends.

As for the Hogwarts' guests, Harry also mingled with them. Harry was surprised to find that most of them understood and spoke almost perfect, accented english but then again, they were taking classes with the rest of Hogwarts students so good ability of English must have been a requirement if people wanted to come. He was quite liked within Durmstrang Institute students and made good acquaintances with Krum (that Ron, obviously, was very jealous of) and several other students. Beauxbatons, however, were a bit colder towards Harry. Young Duke Emrys surmised it was probably because they were all females and there would be only one reason a guy would approach them – a date. And Harry also guessed that there are several veela amongst them by the looks of how other males begin to drool when in Beauxbatons' girls presence. Over the course of several weeks the girls warmed up to Harry when they saw he genuinely just wants to talk with them out of curiosity, and not out of romantic reasons. However, one Fleur Delacour still remained cold to him, claiming that "There is nothing here for little boys." Which was quite insulting.

During these few weeks Harry even managed to exchange some letters with Sirius, where they got to know each other better, Bladenail, where they discussed Harry's properties and investments, and surprisingly Ollivander, who provided Harry with some very interesting reading material revolving around staffs and some ancient magic. Ollivander's packages always came with a note saying " _I felt you needed something extra to help with your magic development._ " Shrugging, Harry just accepted the books.

Harry's main source of knowledge, however, was Heart of Hogwarts that only he could access. He once tried to get to the Heart while his other friends were in the room, and after the usual pricking of his finger the room forcefully ejected the other occupants, something that Harry profusely apologised for.

While it was still a pain to converse with the Heart and it still remained a mistery as to the nature of how it came to be, there were moments when the Heart's facial expressions and tone suggested familiarity and radiated a genuine grandfatherly feeling that Harry latched on. It was weird, but Harry somewhat enjoyed the Heart's company. The Heart also had a deep wealth of knowledge in its' brain young Emrys could only assume that perhaps at life the Heart was some sort of scholar, but Harry had no ways of proving it. And Harry also had a silly thought of that maybe the Heart was one of his most recent ancestors, not too old though as the castle itself was only built after several decades, if not centuries, after Peverell death. Harry discarded the thought as it sounded quite absurd.

During the time with the Heart, Harry learnt more about the chaotic effect, ley lines, about Magik's Chosen, as well as detailed theory behind some ancient magic that was depicted in Ollivander's books, learnt about better staff usage and how to look after it, and the Heart also further helped young Emrys to develop his own special kind of magic casting by giving tips and pointers where it could. Harry, again, could only guess that at life the Heart wielded a staff and might have been a wizard.

And even though Harry was still uncertain about his role as Magik's Chosen, he was getting more and more comfortable with the title as the Heart described that its not a predetermined path that he needs to follow. Rather his actions themselves make a path. The Heart said that nothing can stop Harry from being great, he just needed to believe in it.

But now it was the evening of the 31st of October. The day when the Goblet would choose the champions.

Everyone was giddy with excitement and many couldn't stand still. Many speculated about who is going to be chosen and some of the guesses were quite wild. Half of the Hogwarts believed it was Cedric, who didn't look to be enthusiastic, while the other half though it would be Harry. Throughout the day these two groups were engaged in friendly arguments over who is the goblet going to pick but when asked, they sincerely said they wouldn't mind either way. When Harry spoke to Cedric some days ago, he learnt that initially Cedric didn't even want to participate but was pressured by his father. To make him proud. And so Cedric himself really hoped that he wouldn't be picked.

Harry on the other hand was very calm as he was sure the goblet will pick him. It sounded arrogant, but power wise he was the most powerful wizard in the castle, he just lacked the experience and maybe some knowledge. Besides, Sybill's prediction came true earlier about an owl and an eagle coming on Samhain, which was today. And if that came true then Sybill's prediction about his name coming out of the goblet also should happen.

As for the two birds, one was a missive from the ministry, the other one was from Bladenail. Harry was surprised about the eagle as it was the first time Bladenail used official Gringotts bird. Dumbledore, Harry noticed, was not pleased by it. Young Emrys decided to open Ministry's letter first. It was a formal invitation to attend a Wizengamot meeting on the 1st of November to claim his new seats as well as discuss some things. Bladenail's letter, also contained the same invitation as well as many tips and advices on what should Harry look out for. When Harry received the letter he was quite shocked as it wasn't something he expected. But it was a good thing he took up Sybill's advice and looked up the law. And it also dawned on Harry that he, effectively, had several seats to his name and he had a real influence in the Wizengamot. It wasn't absolute, but it was significant. This was one of the many ways he could influence the wizarding Britain and after learning about the law there were so many thigns to change but he just didn't where to start.

But he will worry about that later, now it was time for the selection.

"Look," Neville said "Headmaster Dumbledore is about to speak!"

"Some grand speech-

before he pulls the names-

out of the hat, I bet," twins said and George finished.

Indeed, after everyone have eaten, Dumbledore rose and spread his arms wide with a welcoming smile on his face.

"It's been a long time since the announcement of the Tournament and finally the time of the Champion choosing has come. We have a guest from the ministry who would like to say some words before we proceed – Please welcome Bartemius Crouch! Head of the Department of the International Magical Cooperation, one of the few people without whom this tournament would have not been possible!"

There was some clapping around the great hall as a rather strict and official looking man in his forties stepped on to the pedestal, next to the goblet of fire, without nodding or even waving. When he spoke, his voice was curt and serious.

"I have only one thing to say – if the goblet chooses you, then you have to participate. You can't withdraw. It's an automatic, binding magical contract so champions need to exercise utmost caution and preparation prior to the tasks. The tournament is dangerous, and I expect that all of you understand that," there was a small pause "I wish all of you the best of luck." He curtly nodded to Dumbledore and retook his seat at the head table.

"Joyous," Dumbledore said "And of course, I would also like to welcome Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He also is one of the people who contributed to the realization of the tournament, and he is going to referee and oversee that everything is fair and square," he then turned towards a rather full man in yellow suit that was already approaching the front, his eyes shining in mirth and joy "Ludo, the floor is yours."

"Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore," Ludo then turned towards the students "I am not going to take too much time as I am sure you all are itching to know the names of the champions. I just gonna say that I am extremely excited about this tournament and can only hope that the spectators will find it as fun as I believe it is! And of course, I have to agree with what Mr Crouch said about the dangers. But now, the choosing!" He quickly went back to his seat and waited for Dumbledore to proceed.

Dumbledore nodded to the professors and said "Champions, when selected, please make your way to the antechamber. The door is on the right of the staff table."

Then with a dramatic wave of his hand Dumbledore dimmed the candles of the great hall so that only the blue fire of the goblet illuminated the room. No one 'ooh'ed at the display of wandless magic as they've seen more impressive things from Harry.

The Hogwarts Headmaster did several other intricate gestures next to the goblet. At once, the blue fire turned deep scarlet and contracted, before it suddenly expanded and spewed out a piece of parchment that was folded to resemble a swan.

"And first champion to be selected is a student from Beauxbatons with impressive origami skills," Dumbledore then pretended to struggle to read the name and one could see the tension raise in the air. The old Headmaster then scanned the great hall until his eyes landed on one beautiful girl in light blue school dress "Fleur Delacour!"

Fleur visibly exhaled, a wide grin on her face as she was congratulated by everyone, Beauxbatons being the loudest and politest. The Beauxbatons champion stood up and graciously entered the antechamber but not before nodding to Madame Maxime.

Dumbledore repeated the procedure and another piece of parchment was spewed out.

"Durmstrang Institute champion is..." dramatic pause to build the tension "Viktor Krum!"

Viktor was also congratulated though unlike with Fleur, his congratulations were more physical. He shook hands, and got clapped in the back before making his way to the antechamber. He too stopped next to his headmaster and shook hands before continuing.

And now it was the tensest moment that Hogwarts students were waiting for. Who will be the Hogwarts champion.

Again, Dumbledore waved his hand and the blue fire became scarlet and contrasted, but this time it took longer and everyone waited with baited breath as to what would happen. The fire twisted and morphed like hot liquid in the air and then in a split second it majestically blazed to life and easily towered above the staff table. It was so bright that the whole great hall was illuminated by its' red wisps and those closest to the goblet had to cover their eyes.

A simple parchment flew out of the blazing fire and when Dumbledore swiftly caught it, the fire returned to its' normal, blue, dormant state.

There was even tenser silence after goblet's grand display and it seemed Dumbledore was taking his sweet time inspecting the parchment.

"It cannot be," Dumbledore muttered under his breath and then called out loudly "Hogwarts' champion is... is..." the then sharply raised his gaze and expertly found Harry within the crowd who was gazing back at him with burning, deep emerald eyes "Duke... Harrison..." all the eyes turned to Harry and wondered why was he suddenly Duke and Harrison "Harrison..." it seemed Dumbledore just couldn't finish the words and Harry smirked while steel looking at Dumbledore "It cannot... be."

Many professors, especially Snape and Moody, leaned forward in their seats in great anticipation. Believe Harry to make a dramatic entrance.

Harry slowly rose from his seat, looking graceful and regal in his best school robes and cloak. All eyes were on him now so it was important to make an impression. He casually leaned against his intricate staff and drawled "Go on, Headmaster. Who did the goblet chose?"

After a brief pause Dumbledore broke the eye contact with Harry to look at the parchment once more as if to make sure what he saw was indeed still there "Duke Harrison... Emrys."

The whole great hall was dead silent as everyone stared wide eyed at Harry who had a full blown smirk on his face. If one was to drop a needle it was possible it would be heard in the entire hall.

Harry then slowly and confidently made his way towards the front, his staff echoing in the hall as it hit the floor.

Seamus then stood up and was first to clap, closely followed by twins, Luna, and then Neville. All of them had full grins on their faces both due the amusement of seeing the shocked faces, and due to being proud and happy that their dear friend was chosen. With every Harry's step, another group of people would stand up and start clapping and in no time the majority of Hogwarts students were clapping and ovating Harry. For it wasn't every day that Merlin descendant was revealed to the world and chosen for a fancy tournament. Those of more pureblood upbringing bowed to Harry as he went past, and in return received a nod from the young Duke.

Even more shocked were Ron and Hermione, and some Slytherins who didn't like Harry that much. Ron and Hermione then remembered what Draco had said to them all those weeks back. Of who Harry really was. And what hurt even more was the lack of surprise on Harry's new friends and the fact that even Draco Malfoy knew it.

When Harry reached the front he dramatically spun around, making his cloak billow in a way that would make Snape proud, and projected his whole magic on the entire great hall, tinting the candles blue and green. While the great hall didn't freeze over due to the size of the room, everyone still felt it and fell silent as Harry said some simple words "I thank you all for your support and I will make sure to make Hogwarts proud," with a happy reverberation in his soul from the castle, he spun around again and without sparing even a glance to Dumbledore he entered the antechamber where other two champions were.

Fleur was the first to voice her confusion "What is it? Do they want us back in the hall?"

"Not really, Ms Delacour," Harry charmingly said as he approached Viktor and Fleur. Fleur had clear contempt on her face while Viktor regarded him with curiosity "I am Hogwarts champion."

Fleur, obviously, didn't believe him "You?" she snorted as she flipped her hair, releasing some of her veela allure that was easily ignored by the two males in the room "As if the goblet would choose some little boy."

Harry was quite tired of Fleur's easy dismissal but before he could put her into her place with his magic projection, Madame Maxime came storming in. She hit the chandelier out of her way as she bellowed "Preposterous! Impossible!"

"Indeed, I am in the same opinion," Dumbledore commented as he was followed quite closely after Maxime "Tell me, Mr Potter, how were you able to inherit such a title?"

"First of all, Headmaster Dumbledore, it's now Duke Emrys for you and you will address me as such and show proper respect. Secondly, it's none of your business as to how except mine and Gringotts's. I just had pure enough blood."

"It doesn't matter as to why," Karkaroff said, grinning "What matters is that we now have descendant of Merlin himself whose blood is pure enough to claim the title!"

"And what matter even more," Ludo said loudly and overly excited "Is that Harry's -may I call you Harry?- name-"

"No, you will address me by my title." Harry coldly replied.

Ludo hurriedly nodded "My apologies, Duke Emrys. As I was saying, your name came out of the goblet so you have no choice but to participate."

Bartemius briskly nodded "Yes, Duke Emrys is magically bound to participate."

"Madame Maxime!" Fleur cried "Please tell me that is not the truth. We will need to compete with this boy?"

"I too am curiouz, Emrys or no Emrys he iz underage!" Maxime said as she put her massive hand on Fleur's shoulder to show support "He must have cheated to put his name in!"

"Ms Fleur, you will soon realise that I am decently matched against you and Viktor Krum. Maybe you should take an example from Durmstrang's Champion and show more professionalism, hm?" Harry drawled and Fleur bristled at his words and subtle implication of incompetency "Madame Maxime. I am fully emancipated and am recognised an adult in the eyes of magic and law. Putting my name in the goblet was not a problem as the goblet accepted my name straight away. You can ask most of the students here and even some professors who saw me put the name."

"That is the truth," Severus drawled, surprising Harry about his support "I was there, along with Professor McGonagall, when Duke Emrys put his name into the goblet." Maxime nodded in understanding, but Fleur still had sour face.

"Then it is decided as everything is legal and within the tournament's boundaries," Crouch said, bringing all the attention back to him "The champions were warned and the goblet has chosen."

"Right, right," Ludo said "The first task now. It is going to be held on 24th of November, you will learn the location on the day of the task. There are no tips or hints as to what the task might entail. First task tests your bravery and daring."

"The champions have been briefed, so I believe it's the time we release them back to their friends so that they can celebrate," Dumbledore kindly said while eyeing Harry.

"Indeed," Karkaroff happily said and strode out of the room first, everyone else followed up.

Harry received congratulations from Viktor, and he returned the courtesy.

But before young Emrys could leave the antechamber, Dumbledore addressed Harry "Mr Po-" "Duke Emrys, headmaster" "Duke Emrys," he corrected himself "Could I talk to you for a second, please?"

"Does it involve my education?" Harry asked.

"Well, my dea- Duke Emrys, not precisely," he corrected himself again. He was so angry that he had to call Harry a different name once again, especially one so very revered and recognised.

"Then our conversation does not need to happen," Harry haughtily replied and strode out of the room but not before receiving a legillimency message from Snape " _You can't imagine what you have set in motion._ "

Harry just smirked as he walked out in to the waiting Gryffindors who cheered quite loudly at the sight of Harry.

He knows perfectly well what he had set in motion.

Though realistically, he doesn't, really.

Heart of Hogwarts just cryptically smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! I apologise for the extremely long wait but I haven't abandoned the story! Oh no, not at all! After my vacation a lot of stuff happened irl so I had to take a small break, and when I was writing I was writing very little as I was busy. Then there was a technical problem where my beta couldn't send me the edited chapter so it was another delay (so the chapter wasn't edited).**

 **I want to immensely thank every reviewer, follower, and favouriter for showing support and interest in the story.**

 **I started the chapter before I went on vocation and then finished it only somewhat recently so it might feel a bit... stale. I really had to get this chapter out of the way so I can resume writing from a fresh page. The chapter might seem a bit rushed, stale, and with little action but I still hope you enjoy it. Even the ending feels like it's been cut off but you'll have to bear with me as I really wanted the chapter out of the way.**

 **Poll results: No, obviously, was a majority so the story will have -no pairing- and will go as originally intended and planned.**

 **Still looking for beta as my current one has technical issues. (I reread previous chapter and was horrified at how many mistakes I found. I will rectify them when I have more time.)**

 **Reminder from previous chapter:**

 **\- Quite dramatic champion picking**

 **\- Fleur being a bitch in the antichamber, Harry explains to Maxime that he himself put his name in the goblet and everything is legal**

 **\- Harry receives invitation for Wizengamot**

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 11

There was an after-party in Gryffindor common rooms the previous day as to celebrate that one of their own was picked for the tournament. There was some music, drinks (butterbeer and even some Firewhiskey that twins managed to smuggle in), and a lot of chatter that dragged on until very late into the night, right into the early morning. It was fun and everyone enjoyed their time at the party, especially Harry who had never experienced something like this due to his childhood.

The way party was going it seemed that it wouldn't have stopped if furious McGonagall didn't show up at early morning and didn't send everyone to beds. Somehow drunk students managed to escape the strict Professor's sharp gaze and catlike smell.

And due to the party finishing very late, or very early, depending from which point of view you look at it, many students were still sleeping even if the sun was long since above the horizon.

Harry groggily opened his eyes and checked the time. Seeing how late it was he swore and groaned before slowly getting up and heading to the showers, but not before telling his dorm mates that it's time to get up otherwise they are going to miss breakfast and will be late for the lesson.

When Harry came back into the room refreshed and clean, he saw his dorm mates in different states of awakeness – Neville was already up and headed for the bathroom too, Seamus's eyes were open but he still laid in the bed, Ron obviously was still snoring, and it seemed that Dean only now started to wake up.

"Morning guys!" Harry happily chirped.

Seamus groaned "How can you be so energetic after yesterday?"

Harry shrugged "I don't know. Maybe because I didn't drink too much Firewhiskey?"

"Mate," Dean sleepily said "You drank more than any of us did and I feel like my head is about to explode."

Harry just shrugged again, he felt quite refreshed. He went over to his bed and grabbed his staff "I don't know. I'm just that amazing, aren't I?"

Seamus snorted and Dean rolled his eyes "Yes, yes. Second coming of Merlin and all that."

Harry grinned, glad that his friends' attitude towards him didn't change after yesterday.

"If you lot hurry up you might have enough time for the breakfast before the first lesson today," Harry said as he made his way towards the door.

Dean checked the time and swore "Shit, it's so late!"

"And someone try to wake up Ron, will you?" Harry said "Meet you in the great hall."

Harry made his way downstairs to the common room which was more or less barren with some stray students that were swiftly leaving the room in hopes of catching some breakfast. Harry caught up and chatted to them on his way to the great hall.

When they entered the great hall there was a moment of silence where everyone stared at Harry and Harry stared at them. As it was quite late, the great hall was packed with students. Harry bid good day to his temporary companions and made his way to the Hufflepuff table, making everyone else to snap their attention back to whatever they were doing, resuming the chatter that intensified when Harry appeared.

"Morning, Harry," Cedric said as he budged up and allowed Harry to sit next to him "Or is it, Duke Emrys now? Or even Merlin?" he joked.

Harry haughtily raised his nose in the air and said "It will be Lord Potter-Gryffindor–Slytherin–Hufflepuff–Peverell-Emrys for you," and he continued to load his tray with some sausages and eggs while holding his cutlery with his pinkie finger raised, portraying a perfect image of royalty.

People who heard Harry fell dead silent and stared at him with their mouths open and Harry couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Was that a joke?" one Zacharias Smith asked, a pure horror on his face.

"What exactly?" Harry laughed "The titles or that you should call me that?"

"Both?" Cedric offered.

When Harry calmed down he said "Yes, those are all my lordships. No, you lot are my friends so you can just call me Harry."

"B-But it's impossible!" Zacharias said "You can't be Lord Hufflepuff as our line is Hufflepuff's direct descendants!"

"Whoever was telling you that was obviously trying to make them look more important than they probably are, pardon me if I offend you," Harry said and showed his diamond lordship ring and due to the enchantment everyone was able to read the tiny inscription of all the houses Harry is lord off "But the Lordship ring cannot lie, can it?"

"But that means..." Zacharias said his face visibly sagging down in disappointment and horror "Merlin, this has been a lie all this time? B-But, mother and grandmother always claimed that we have Hufflepuff heirlooms and that's why we thought we must be her descendants..."

"If you have any heirloom that you think belongs to Hufflepuff, then please deliver them to Gringotts goblins so that they can check if that's true or not. If they really belong to Hufflepuff then I will have no choice but to claim them," Harry apologetically said.

Zacharias swiftly nodded "Of course, Duke Emrys, of course! Oh Merlin, I am so sorry, I will write to my mother immediately! Merlin, it's so weird to call his name when his direct descendant is sitting next to us."

Harry laughed again "Don't worry about it, and please – just call me Harry."

"And still, how did you managed to claim all those Lordships?" Cedric asked "There weren't any founder descendants in forever."

Harry shrugged again "I came to Gringotts after my birthday and they did inheritance test. My blood was just pure enough to claim Emrys line. Peverell, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Potter line are descendants of Emrys and by claiming Emrys, I automatically claimed them all."

Cedric whistled at that "Do you even know how much political power you have?"

Harry nodded "I am aware of that, yes," He saw his friends coming through the great hall doors so he called them over.

Seeing that there were 5 people coming their way, Susan said "There is not enough space for all of us."

"Oh, true," Harry said and no sooner than these words left his mouth, the table and the seat extended giving just enough space for the new people to sit at. Harry grinned and silently thanked the castle.

"Morning, Harry!" Luna happily greeted as she sat down opposite from Harry "I see Hogwarts is already willingly following your wishes."

"Oh we never asked!" Fred said as he sat next to Luna.

"Are you the owner of the castle now?" George finished.

"Yup," Harry said, popping the 'p' "Rightful, legal owner of Hogwarts, inherited through the founders line."

"Wicked!" they said in unison.

"So that's why ghosts and portraits address you as lord!" Susan exclaimed.

Instead of answering that, Harry instead asked with a smirk "Did you manage to wake up Ron?"

"No," Seamus said "Still sleeping. Said we should fuck off, then he turned around and continued snoring like a pig."

"Well if his table manners are anything to go by then he _is_ a pig," Neville laughed.

Harry was about to say something as well but he was interrupted by one of the female ghosts that floated to him through the table "My lord, can I have a moment of your time? Pardon for such intrusion but it is of utmost importance."

"Of course," Harry said and then turned to his friends "If you'd excuse me."

Harry gracefully stood up and left the great hall with the ghost, never seeing blue eyes watching him retreat.

When they were out of the great hall they continued to walk a bit until they entered some classroom.

"What is your name?" Harry politely asked "And what is this about?"

"I'm simply known as Sarah. And this is about some ah..." Sarah looked around as if checking if someone was around. She then leaned down and whispered "The Moody who might not be so Moody."

Harry blankly stared at the ghost who looked somewhat nervous. Did she really just parroted Sybill? With a wave of his hand he shut the doors, then pointed his staff at the doors, waved it in small circular motion and intoned " _Clauditis stricta! Sonitus spissamentum!_ " Two pale lights escaped the staff's onyx orb and collided with the door before spreading throughout the room as Harry waved his hand.

"Speak freely," he said "No is going to overhear us."

Sarah nodded "It's most disturbing and I'm still not quite sure if what I've seen is right,"

"Start from the beginning."

"Well today was my turn to try and spy on Alastor Moody as it is always very hard to do when he is in his office. It's extremely hard to spy on him at all."

"And why is that?" Harry asked.

"Because he has that magical eye that sees everything, and even through walls. And then he has the Foe-Glass that also works on ghosts as spying is considered an act of an enemy," she said "But today I was lucky when I peeked my head through the ceiling – his magical eye wasn't attached to his head and his attention was on his multi compartment trunk. And this is where the weird thing comes in – he opened one of the compartments and it revealed an identical copy of Alastor, but more thin and even starved. Alastor in the room then continued with plucking a strand of hair and put it in his silver flask before taking a sip. In fact, all throughout the two months both portraits and ghosts have noticed that he occasionally takes a sip from the flask when he has this weird tongue twitch kind of thing. After that he continued to push his twin back into the compartment before reattaching his eye. I fled the scene and came straight to you."

Harry nodded. 'Moody who was not so Moody'. A strand of hair into the flask, then drink it. The only logical conclusion that Harry could come to was Polyjuice potion. And then his eyes widened. Professor Alastor Moody who was teaching them so far was only an impostor? When this thought crossed his mind he felt warmth spread throughout his soul which he recognised as Hogwarts's doing. So that must be it! His uneasy feeling around Alastor was actually Hogwarts trying to warn him. He couldn't make any hasty decisions though. Ingredients to brew Polyjuice were rare and he has never seen Alastor getting any packages. And he hasn't seen him leave the castle or be absent from the meals either. That means he was either stealing from Snape or he had some agent inside the school.

"Sarah," Harry addressed "Could you please go to Severus Snape and inquire if everything's alright with his potion ingredients? Make sure he is alone. Maybe say that you might have seen someone escaping his storeroom. And watch carefully his reaction."

"It shall be done, My Lord," Sarah said "Is there anything else?"

Harry flashed the ghost a charming smile "No, that would be everything. And thanks a lot for bringing this to me, you've done a great job!"

If ghosts could blush then Harry was sure she would have blushed the way she shyly lowered her head. Sarah then floated away from the room in search for the potions master, while Harry remained in the classroom submerged in his thoughts. When he came back to reality he checked the time and swore – he was very close to being late to his class and he didn't want to disappoint Flitwick.

Thankfully he made it just in time as the last student. He sat down next to Neville who passed him his bag that he left in the great hall.

"Thanks mate," Harry said with a smile.

"Everything's alright?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

* * *

The rest of the day passed quite quickly and before Harry knew it it was already evening and the Wizengamot meeting was soon to begin. He stood in his dorm and checked himself in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable – he donned his best semi-traditional robes that consisted of tight, black pants made out of the best silk, deep purple buttoned up shirt of the same material that was quite fitting to his developed body, and dark coat with green highlights that fell down to his knees and with Emrys crest on his right shoulder. He also wore traditional black dragon hide shoes. Harry's hair was neatly brushed and styled back that fell down in silky waves just below his ears revealing his faint lightning bolt scar that was close to completely fading. Unlike Draco, Harry used a spell on his hair that made them naturally fall back and didn't reflect unnatural light and didn't come with uncomfortable stiffness that normal hair gel would produce. It made Harry wonder why Draco was using such mundane way of styling.

Coupled with his shining diamond ring and a staff he stroke a rather handsome and imposing figure.

"You look good," Seamus said from his bed where he was doing one of his homework assignments "Now stop admiring yourself, Mr Merlin the Vanity, you gonna be late."

"You will most definitely impress the other lords with your looks," Neville agreed "Though I'm glad I'm not you. I don't think I'd manage to handle Wizengamot."

Harry laughed "Don't sell yourself short Neville. And I suggest you prepare since you only have three more years until you have to take up the lordship."

Neville's face suddenly became very green.

"I wish we could attend-" Fred said,

"To see all those reactions-" George continued,

"When they see who is the one claiming the Emrys seat," they both finished from where they were sitting on the floor next to Harry's bed.

"I'll make sure to remember the reactions and then later show them in a pensieve when I get hold of one," Harry said as he did last check over.

"Wicked!" twins chorused.

"Ugh, can you all just shut up?" Ron said from his own bed "You all sound like Potter here is second coming of Merlin!"

"Firstly, Weasley, it's Duke Emrys and if you fail to follow simple formalities then you will face consequences of insulting a high standing lord. Secondly, I **am** direct descendant of Merlin so I'm close to being, as you say, 'second coming of Merlin'," Harry haughtily said as other boys snickered at how red Ron was becoming. Before Ron could retort, Harry did his trademark silencing with a wave of his hand and said "Unlike you, I have important places to be so please don't distract me," he then turned around to face his friends in the room. Unfortunately Luna wasn't there but he already talked to her beforehand "Wish me luck."

After saying his goodbyes to his friends he made his way to the entrance where he then would walk out of the wards so he could apparate. But he stopped short in his tracks when he reached the first floor – he has never been in the Ministry of Magic so there was no way he could apparate there himself safely. While he practiced apparition, it was always short distance so it was safer to not attempt.

He swore because that meant he will need to seek Professor's help. And the only one who he really trusted with apparition so far was McGonagall. But he was going to be late if he was to run to McGonagall and then all the way back to the entrance so he conjured a Patronus that appeared in a form of small drake and mentally told the message he wanted to deliver and ordered the Patronus to go to McGonagall. As the drake disappeared in a bright flash that left a ghostly trail behind, Harry resumed his walk to the entrance gates.

Not long after Harry saw a grey cat running towards him. The cat jumped and transformed into the strict Scottish Professor who looked a tiny bit dishevelled and worried.

"Duke Emrys!" McGonagall called out.

"Please, Professor, this is an informal situation so please call me Harry," he replied with a smile.

"As you wish, Harry," McGonagall said as her eyes softened "Is everything alright, Harry? I received your patronus message -I must commendate you on your magnificent spell work as it's quite an advanced spell- and came as soon as I could."

"Sorry for making you worry, Professor, but it's nothing life threatening," Harry said and McGonagall visibly relaxed "I was summoned to the Wizengamot but it occurred to me only now that I can't actually apparate and I have no way to getting there so I thought I'd seek out your assistance."

The Professor looked surprised "Summoned to the Wizengamot? Dressed for the occasion, I see. You look rather charming."

Harry nodded "Yesterday. They introduce new lords to the court around this time. And thanks, Professor."

"Why didn't you go with Headmaster Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked "He left a couple of minutes ago," Harry's face darkened and McGonagall was surprised to see a sliver of hatred cross his burning, emerald eyes "Harry, what is happening between you two? You were on good terms just at the end of the last school year."

"He has done some transgressions to me so it's his own fault that he lost all the trust and respect I had to him, but that's a discussion for another time," Harry said and checked the time "And as I said, I realised I have no way of coming to the Ministry when I sent you the message and from what I understand Dumbledore was already gone by that time. Now, sorry to cut this short but can you side-along apparate me to the Ministry, please?"

McGonagall curtly nodded at Harry's response and decided that she will ask Albus about what Harry meant "Lets go then, Harry."

And so they quickly started walking towards the edge of the anti-apparition wards in comfortable silence.

When they reached the end of the wards McGonagall sadly looked at Harry and quickly said "Harry, I'm afraid that we will need to stop our extra tutoring in transfiguration due to the tournament."

Harry kindly smiled in response that brought a brief smile to McGonagall's face as well "That's okay, Professor, I was already aware that this might happen."

"Right then," she said as she offered her arm to Harry "To the Ministry."

Harry grasped her arm and one second they were on Hogwarts grounds, which followed by what Harry felt like they very squeezed through narrow, plastic tube, and the next second they were standing in the Ministry of Magic in one of the apparition points."

"Nasty way of travel," Harry said after he steadied himself.

McGonagall's lips twitched in amusement "Welcome to the Ministry, Duke Emrys," she said and Harry looked around.

It was massive and Harry was quite impressed at the sheer size of the building and Harry wondered where exactly was it stationed. The number and strength of the wards protecting and hiding the Ministry from muggles must be impressive, Harry mused.

The ministry was bustling with activity - pops and cracks of apparition going on around the place they were standing at, clatter of footsteps as hundreds of smartly dressed witches and wizards, walking by with determination in their eyes, while some were walking with dull look on their faces as if they have been Imperiosed.

"Come, I will escort you to the Wizengamot," McGonagall said.

"You don't have to do that, Professor," Harry protested as they quickly made their way.

"Nonsense, you've never been here, Duke Emrys," she said "From what I understand you have a high chance of running late and it won't do you any good if you get lost."

Harry nodded and thanked the Professor as they masterfully weaved through the crowd and made their way to the lift, briefly stopping to look at the Fountain of Magical Brethren in the Ministry's atrium – group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three were all looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of the two wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears and Harry couldn't help but to sneer. The fountain supposed to represent harmony in the wizarding world but Harry knew for a fact that it is not so.

They finally entered half full lift and immediately a female voice spoke

" _Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please choose your destination."_

"Level 2, Wizengamot," McGonagall clearly spoke and other magic users in the lift curiously looked at the pair, wondering why would a child need to go to the Wizengamot, but thankfully they didn't express their curiosity vocally.

After several stops where they let some people out, they were the only ones in the lift when they finally descended to level 2.

" _Level 2, Wizengamot,_ " the voice said as the lift doors opened.

"This is where I leave you," McGonagall said "And good luck, Harry. It's extremely rare when someone as young as you is exposed to the adult world but I guess you had no choice. I pray you know what you are doing and please, stay safe!"

Harry warmly smiled at his favourite professor "Thank you, Professor McGonagall. And don't worry, I know what I am doing. Sort of."

Harry stepped out of the lift and watched as McGonagall, her eyes full of worry, ascended back to the atrium on the lift. Harry then spun on his heels and swiftly made his way to the only door which was at the end of dimly lit, dark marbled hallway.

The intricate double doors swung open on their own accord as Harry approached them and the young wizard was shortly blinded by the sudden influx of light that contrasted the corridor before.

Wizengamot was an oval like room separated into four sections: at the very front of the room, opposite from the entrance, was a grand seat for the Minister of Magic. In front of that seat, but several levels lower, was Chief Warlock's seat, on the right of the Minister's seat (but also some levels lower) was Minister's Undersecretary and on the left sat DMLE head. On the right of the Undersecretary sat the scribe. On the left side of the room was a section for general public, reporters, or family members; on the right side were lords and ladies and members of the Wizengamot, lords and ladies occupying the higher levels.

But there were several seats vacant – a seat on a higher level behind minister, twelve seats on a higher level behind all the lords, several vacant seats in the lord section. And tonight six seats are going to be taken.

Harry was a bit nervous as he entered the grand room full of wizards and witches more than twice his age, but he didn't show it. He silently made his way towards the middle of the room until someone finally noticed him.

A disgustingly sweet voice rang through the room full of impatient chatter "Hem hem," immediately everyone turned their attention to the Dolores Umbridge, Minister's Undersecretary, while some were watching Harry with curiosity not knowing who he was. After all, Harry's scar was starting to fade and it was hard to see from the distance and not many knew how the new Harry looked like.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dolores asked "A minor in the Wizengamot? Who let you in?"

Harry really wanted to sneer at the vile woman dressed in pink under the formal black cloak, but he controlled his disgust and didn't let it show on his face. Oh he knew the woman – she was the one behind all the restriction and laws against the magical creatures.

"Madam Dolores Umbridge," Harry calmly replied "I myself let me in as is my right by being a fellow lord."

Dumbledore recognised who the boy was by his magic and he quickly stood up and addressed Harry "Mr Potter, there is no need for you to be here. Please, return to Hogwarts."

Many people expressed their shock – it was Harry Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived? And suddenly everyone became even more interested in the boy and many reporters started to furiously write in their notebooks in hopes of creating the most interesting story.

"Harry Potter?" Dolores showed her surprise "A lord? Absurd! You are but a boy! I don't know how you managed to get into the Wizengamot but I will make sure you are removed immediately. Aurors! Escort Mr Potter out of here!"

Three aurors dressed in red cloaks made their way towards Harry with their wands raised but before they could do anything, Harry angrily slammed his staff in to the floor and unleashed some magic effectively silencing the whole room and making the aurors to stop in their tracks. Aurors, recognising this as resistance, adjusted a battle ready stance.

"Minister Fudge!" Harry bellowed and Cornelius slightly jumped in his seat, not expecting to be addressed.

"Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said "There is no need for this. Leave, or I will escort you myself."

"You dare to threaten me, Dumbledore?" Harry angrily asked "And how many times have I told you to address me by my proper title?"

Harry then looked Minister into the eye as everyone waited with baited breath "Minister, please tell me the only three conditions on which someone apart from selected few can enter the Wizengamot room?"

"By formal Ministry invitation or notification; if its family or friends and the meeting is public then they must be escorted by a member of Wizengamot and they must register beforehand; if it's criminal then they are escorted by aurors," Cornelius quickly replied.

Harry nodded "Yesterday I received a Ministry owl formally inviting me to today's Wizengamot meeting in order to introduce myself to the court and to claim my seats."

"Impossible!" Dolores screeched "He is obviously lying. Aurors!"

"Hold, aurors!" Amelia Bones, the head of DMLE, said and the aurors stopped "Mr Potter managed to get into the room which means that he indeed received a formal invitation. And unlike you, Madam Umbridge, I actually thoroughly read through today's agenda and know the names of those who are supposed to attend. Mr Potter here has all the rights to be here."

Harry curtly nodded to Amelia "Thank you, Lady Bones," he then faced the Minister "Now can we proceed with me claiming the seats and then go on with the meeting? Enough precious time was already wasted courtesy to Madam Umbridge."

Dolores bristled at his words "How dare you-!"

"Enough, Dolores!" Amelia shouted "Minister, please proceed with the meeting."

"Ah, yes, yes," Cornelius said with calculating look in his eyes. He knew that there is going to be new lord in the Wizengamot but he didn't read the invitation letters so he wasn't aware that it was Harry Potter himself. And Harry was very famous figure in their world so it would be good to be on his good graces, especially since Potters were also rich "Indeed, too much time was wasted that could have been resolved in a matter of seconds. Make sure that doesn't happen again, Dolores," Dolores, of course, didn't reply, only narrowed her eyes. The minister continued "Aurors, return to your positions," the red cloaked wizards complied "But before we proceed I am curious – how did you claim your lordship, Mr Potter? After all you're only 14, if I am not mistaken?"

"I would like to know that as well," Lucius Malfoy said from the right side of the room.

"Harry-" Dumbledore tried but was silenced by Harry's wave of hand that impressed the whole room of the wandless skill and the fact that he did so against Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock himself. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was infuriated by Harry's attitude towards him. He removed the silencing spell and angrily said "How dare you! I am the-"

"Stop wasting time, Albus," Harry cheekily said.

"You will address me by my proper title!" Dumbledore bellowed.

"What a hypocrite," Harry said and turned towards Minister "My apologies for this. Albus here has refused to call me by my proper title since my Lordships were revealed and he is insisting on insulting me by addressing me by my first name. And as to answer your question, I visited Gringotts in which I was able to emancipate myself and claim the Lordships as a last living heir and descendant. I am recognised adult in the eyes of magic and law. All the necessary documents should be in Ministry's archives."

Minister looked at Amelia who said "That is true. I myself couldn't believe what I saw in the invitation list so I checked the archives. They confirmed that," she glanced at Harry before looking back at the Minister "Mr Harry _Potter_ indeed is supposed to be here."

Fudge nodded and turned back to Harry "I see. And did you say Lordships?"

"Yes. Can I claim my seats now? You will see which ones," Harry said with a smirk.

"Very well," Minister said "Amelia."

The just witch nodded "Mr Potter, you will raise the hand on which your lordship ring or rings are and say 'I, -followed by your name-, -the lordship name you're claiming-, as by my right by blood and magic claim the seats of, -name of all the family seats you're claiming-. I claim my rightful place in the court of magic and let the Magik and this/these ring/s be my witnesses forevermore, so I claim so mote it be.'," confirming that Harry understood, she said "You may proceed."

"Thank you, Lady Bones," Harry said. He took his staff into his left hand and raised his right hand into the air proudly displaying his diamond ring that made many widen their eyes

"I, Harrison Emrys, Duke Emrys, as by my right by blood and magic claim the seats of Potter," a seat on the right side, not far from Malfoys, flashed red

"Gryffindor," a seat above all the lords glowed gold and stayed,

"Slytherin," a seat on the right to Gryffindor's glowed green,

"Hufflepuff," another seat next to Slytherin's glowed yellow,

"Peverell," seat on the left from Gryffindor's, closest to the Minister's seat, glowed purple,

"Emrys," a seat above and behind the Minister's glowed bright blue,

"I claim my rightful place in the court of magic and let the Magik and this ring be my witnesses forevermore, so I claim so mote it be."

All the glowing seats flashed in their respective colours before settling down. Harry looked around and chuckled to himself as everyone was staring at him speechless "I see it's not quite what you expected. I am to be addressed by my title of Duke Emrys."

"Welcome to the Wizengamot, Duke Emrys," Amelia said in the silent court, not showing that she already knew all the seats that Harry would claim. She was glad that what she saw in the archives was true as she was doubting it at first - the fact that Harry wasn't in any pain meant that the family magic has acknowledged him as rightful Lord.

"Thank you, Lady Bones. May I proceed to my seat, Minister?" Harry asked and Cornelius only dumbly nodded.

Harry then made his way to the Emrys seat which was stationed above and behind the minister. As he sat down he realised that this allowed him to see everyone in the room which is was quite handy to keep track of other Lords and their facial expressions. When he sat down it seemed life returned to the room as reporters started to furiously scribe down a story that surely is going to be top story of the year.

"R-Right," Minister said "Today's meeting, yes."

"Minister Fudge," Harry said as he stood up, making the minister jump slightly "I apologise for interrupting so soon, I just wanted to get an apology from Madam Umbridge for insulting me several times today, and an apology from Dumbledore for insisting on being so informal with me that quite honestly is an insult to my title of Duke. I believe that is not a proper behaviour for such high ranking individuals in the Wizengamot."

"Indeed, Duke Emrys," Minister hastily replied in hopes of getting in Harry's good graces "This would've been avoided if we proceeded with the claiming procedure straight away. Madam Umbridge, Chief Warlock."

Both turned towards Harry with sour look on their faces though Dumbledore's was concealed. "My apologies, Duke Emrys," they chorused.

Harry hid a smirk and nodded "Apology accepted, but make sure it doesn't happen in the future," he then addressed the Minister "And I apology for taking so much of tonight's time. Please, Minister, lets proceed with the meeting and not waste any more time."

"Right you are," Minister said "As exciting as this was, Duke Emrys has a point – we lost quite a bit of time due to some member's disagreement so lets proceed with the meeting. Tonight..."

And so the Wizengamot meeting passed almost without a hitch. Thankfully there weren't any new regulations or laws introduced so Harry had the opportunity to just observe how the meeting proceeded and the subtle power plays that happened. He wasn't asked many things as everyone were not quite sure where he stood in terms of justice, laws, or his views.

Both dark and light families were shooting him curious glances. After all, he was the boy-who-lived and considered light which made the dark families wary of his political power, but at the same time they saw that Harry didn't have the best relationship with the headmaster and he was a lord of a dark family too and that made them a bit excited about the future and what that could mean. Same could be said for the light families. Grey families on the other hand, just regarded Harry with curiosity and caution.

Harry was sure that both Light and Dark families will now try to get his favour in order to tip the scales in the future Wizengamot meetings.

When the Wizengamot ended and people started to filter out of the room, Harry descended down to the court's main room and was approached by Lucius Malfoy, the Minister, Dumbledore, and several other lords like Nott, Greengrass, and Bones.

"Duke Emrys, a moment of your time?" Lucius silkily said.

"Lord Malfoy," Harry greeted and nodded to the older man. He then turned and greeted the others as well in respect "Lord Nott, Lord Greengrass. Lady Bones. Minister, Chief Warlock," he then fully faced Lucius and rested his staff on his left shoulder "What can I do for you, Lord Malfoy?"

"I'm just curious – how exactly did you claim the family title of Merlin? I mean, which line, exactly, was the descendant of Merlin?" he asked.

Harry smiled "Blood is a very powerful source of magic in the wizarding world, is it not, Lord Malfoy?" he rhetorically asked "When I visited Gringotts they performed some identification spell using my blood which revealed that I had strong Emrys' gene in my blood _and_ magic which made me to be a direct descendant, and so I was eligible to claim the heirship. And since I emancipated myself I claimed the Lordship straight away," he explained to the listeners and Harry then chuckled "As for your other question, Lord Malfoy, every family I claimed is descendant of Merlin," everyone's eyes widened "It's true. While it is not a secret, this knowledge is generally forgotten because each family had their own amazing feats and achievements to their own respective names. History records as well as public just tend to... forget the roots," he shrugged and smiled "But I aim to rectify that by living up to the name."

"That is quite a bold statement, Duke Emrys," Lord Greengrass, a tall and broad shouldered man said "Merlin's name still survives to this day, a long time after his death. He was a legend among wizards," he then reverently said "some even called him a god of magic," he focused his gaze back on Harry "He brought a revolution to the wizarding world and changed the way we perceive magic. You took quite a burden on your shoulders when you took up that last name, Duke Emrys. A lot of people are going to expect great things from you – can you deliver their hopes, meet their expectations? Or are you going to be the one who dismantles what we've built?"

Dumbledore then decided to interject "I'm quite sure young Emrys won't carry that burden alone and will share it with his supporters. We could change the wizarding world for the better. Isn't that right?" he finished as he peered at Harry over his glasses.

"Definitely," Harry said and smirked "I have great friends who support me, and you're not one of them, Chief Warlock Dumbledore. And I have to ask you to follow simple etiquette rules, please. I am quite tired of reminding you to address me by my proper title. If you can't handle the pressure of being in a finer company," he gestured to Malfoy, Nott, Greengrass, and the Minister "Then please leave us, or at least remain silent so we can converse."

Lucius smirked as he saw anger pass Dumbledore's eyes. It really seems that those two don't see eye to eye with each other "I quite agree, Duke Emrys. Chief Warlock always acts as if he's better than others and often talks to us like we're children," he then briefly looked at the old man before returning his focus on Harry "Maybe he is still under perception than we are his students?"

Madam Bones then interjected "While it is true that Chief Warlock shows lack of etiquette, you yourself are provoking him."

"That may be so, Lady Bones, but I believe in 'receive what you give'. I've been nothing but courteous and formal to Chief Warlock as expected from a student and a Lord, yet he refuses to call me by my title after I asked multiple times, and keeps being very informal. I'm just returning the favour in hopes of him seeing how hypocritical he is," Harry responded.

"Dumbledore often gets away with it due to his fame," Nott said. Dumbledore wisely kept his mouth shut as he was too angry at the moment.

Lucius then resumed talking "And yet what has been said is true – you now wield an immense political power and people will be actually willing to listen to what you say. So the question is-"

Lucius was interrupted by Lord Nott "The question is, Duke Emrys, which side are you going to advocate? The dark or the light? Knowing your background, probably light, but still one must ask considering you're also Lord of some dark family names."

Lucius looked a bit peeved at being interrupted and at the bluntness of the question but nevertheless he nodded in agreement.

Harry felt a bit of a pressure on him from all the piercing looks he was getting but he refused to be intimidated. He himself got into this political mess so he had to deal with. Harry looked Lord Nott in the eye and icily asked "You know of my background? Pray tell me what you know?"

Lord Nott almost sneered but still kept his composure "Born to the light family, to the light side, that was killed by the dark side; given off to some light family, pampered, spoiled and brought up with their beliefs-"

Harry shook his head and interrupted Nott "I will have to stop you there. If you believe what the general public believes, or what those despicable books tell of me, then perhaps I thought too highly of you and you just follow some public belief," Lord Nott bristled at those words "I didn't know of magic or that I was a wizard until I received my first Hogwarts letter. For 11 years I lived with the worst kind of magic hating muggles that beat and starved me just because I had magic and they didn't."

Everyone's eyes widened at that. The boy-who-lived spent 11 years of his life with magic hating muggles and never knew of his heritage? Light or not that was preposterous.

"Duke Emrys, surely that's an over exaggeration?" Dumbledore said.

"You have no right to speak on this matter, Dumbledore," Harry angrily said "For you were the one who left me on their doorstep in cold November night as some package," everyone turned to look at Dumbledore in horror but before they could say anything Harry continued "I have just as much reasons to join the dark side as I have to join the light side," everyone looked at him again "So I won't join or advocate neither."

There was a moment of silence before the Minister finally spoke up "So you will remain neutral? But that's impossible for someone with your standing."

Harry shook his head "I won't be on the light or dark side, Minister. I will be on the side of Magic and I will advocate its rights."

Dumbledore's eyes comically widened at this and slight panic entered his blue eyes.

"Magic?" Minister asked confused.

"Yes," Harry replied "The light side only fights for the people on their side, for whoever has light magical core. They restrict people with dark cores, they enforce change on traditional wizarding customs to satisfy the muggleborns who don't understand how our world works. They claim to advocate for all the creatures' rights yet they do nothing to improve it. The dark side on the other hand does the opposite – it only fights for the wizards with dark cores, so that they can practice their cores' magic without the fear of persecution never realising that they use black magic and not just dark to achieve their goals. They offer and promise freedom for creatures but only put more laws to restrict them. They ridicule and sneer down on muggleborns thinking they do not deserve magic and are the scum of the wizarding world. And muggleborns in turn hate the dark side for it. But is it their fault that they simply don't know how the wizarding world works? They don't know better because they are not taught about it. And contrary to popular belief, muggleborn magic cores can be dark as well so essentially the dark side contradicts itself. Tell me, how can I choose between a side," Harry looked at their thoughtful expressions though he could see Dumbledore glaring at him. He continued

"I personally don't want to fight against a certain community only because of their magic core affinity. In the future Wizengamot meetings I will not look from the perspective of light or dark, but from the perspective of 'What will benefit the wizarding world as a whole?'. So in future meetings, Lord Malfoy, you should expect that I could be as much your ally as your enemy."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Lord Nott commented.

"Precisely," Harry replied.

"It's... refreshing to have a new influential Lord in the Wizengamot, Duke Emrys," Lucius thoughtfully said "The future just became much more interesting."

"I still would like to ask-" Minister began but was interrupted by Harry.

"I apologise, Minister, but maybe we could discuss any other questions you might have some other time?" he apologetically said and made a very tired face "It's getting quite late today and I have lessons tomorrow still. But if you would like to talk I wouldn't say no to, lets say, a meeting sometime where we could discuss whatever behind a cup of tea? I too have questions for you, Minister."

The Minister joyously smiled "Certainly, Duke Emrys, certainly. I will send you an owl and arrange a meeting," he then turned towards the Headmaster "Dumbledore, I trust you will escort Duke Emrys back to Hogwarts safely and without incidents?"

Dumbledore nodded "Of course, Minister," and Harry silently groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was to be left alone with the old coot.

And so, after saying their goodbyes, two powerful wizards left the court in a tense silence.


	12. Chapter 12

Here's my next chapter, and thanks a lot for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. And big thanks for trying to see past the horror that is my grammar. Good news is that I have finally found beta! Bad news is that I haven't heard from him for a while. Which means this chapter is unbetaed! I will re-post first three chapters sometime this week as they have been betaed! (big thanks to beta).

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 12

The fireplace in Headmaster's office blazed to life in green flames, startling Fawkes, and two figures stepped out.

Harry thanked the Headmaster and quickly made his way towards the doors but Headmaster, who now calmly stood behind his desk, stopped him.

"You have overstepped your boundaries, Harry."

Harry whirled around and looked at Headmaster with narrowed eyes. Dumbledore indifferently gazed back and stepped out so that he now stood next to his table.

"Wizengamot is a place for experienced Lords and Ladies, Harry, not for mere school students. It's a place where laws are discussed and set. A place where hundreds of subtle power plays take place within one session. One wrong move, one wrong word and you can get more enemies than you can handle. Wizengamot is a place of backstabbing and bribery. Of false pleasantries and politeness. A charade that leads the wizarding world."

Harry made a step forward "It is my birthright as the last Lord of my family!"

Dumbledore smiled "Ah, the last lord of the house of Emrys. Direct descendant of Merlin. Also inheriting other well known bloodlines. It makes me wonder why James nor Charles, your father and grandfather, both of whom I knew personally never inherited them. How is it possible that your blood is purer than theirs?"

"Magic," Harry cheekily replied.

"Of course. Black magic, perhaps?" Dumbledore said, disappointment colouring his voice. "You have enormous political power, and even more magical power, I give you that," he nodded as if confirming something "You are above your peers in terms of magic and only few can match your political power. But you are a mere student. You are young and inexperienced. You have no knowledge of how the world works, of how everything is done; of what makes people tick. More experienced lords and ladies could easily manipulate you and abuse the power you have," Dumbledore paused here and peered at Harry through his glasses "Power comes with a great responsibility which you're not even aware of. You don't know how to behave in a high pureblood society even though I need to commendate on your pureblood persona you developed over the summer but books will only get you so far," Dumbledore saw the anger in Harry's emerald eyes "You should enjoy your life while you can, be a kid and not try to play an adult."

Something burst within Harry after those words, something that he thought he already got over "Enjoy my life while I can? Have a childhood?" Harry hissed as he put his hands on the table "You stole all my childhood when you placed me with Dursleys, Dumbledore. They beat me, starved me, ridiculed me, and made me do all the chores in the house as soon as I could walk, and if I didn't complete the chore or messed up then it's another punishment! I was raised a slave! And what makes it worse is that you knew about what was happening in that house, about my health, yet never helped. But why would you when it was you who made Dursleys the way they are?"

"So is it vengeance then? Is that what feeds your anger?" Dumbledore calmly asked.

"No-"

"Ah, but for me it seems that it is. You need to let go of your anger," getting no response he carried on "I did what I had to do for the sake of the wizarding world. For the Greater Good."

"Did what you had to do? Explain how abandoning a toddler on muggle doorsteps, and then ensuring that said muggles treat him like freak of nature is for the sake of the wizarding world? And then also proceeding to lie your way through legal authorities so they would leave me alone. Not to mention stealing my family's gold! And all the blocks you put on me that put my life in danger!" Harry shouted finally letting out all of his frustrations and anger.

Dumbledore frowned for a second before replying "You seem to know a lot, my boy, but no matter. I see that your scar is fading and whatever evil presence, or rather a fragment of evil, that was inhabiting in it is gone-"

"You knew what's in my scar?" Harry shouted.

"I had my suspicions when I first saw that scar, it's just something I sensed as the Light Lord. So I did some tests and did some research. Adding the fact that I knew exactly who gave you that scar it wasn't hard to come to a most likely conclusion."

"And you did nothing to remove the piece?!"

Harry was angry and magic reacted to the emotion and started to leak out of him in waves without him even noticing. With his willpower alone Dumbledore managed to contain the magic close to Harry's body so that it wouldn't unexpectedly lash out and destroy something.

Dumbledore looked at Harry with hard, unreadable expression "Your response suggests that you know what it was. I wonder how you can know about something that is a result of blackest of magic," Harry kept silently fuming without saying anything "No matter. With the fragment gone it means you are no longer crucial in my plan of vanquishing Voldemort forever. I did what I had to do and I don't need to explain myself to a kid."

"I'm no longer crucial in your plan? If you ever had a plan of finishing off Voldemort that involved me then why not consult me about it? It's my life on the line after all!"

Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled merrily, a contrast to his face expression a second ago. He spread his arms as he said "My boy, simple minds would never be able to understand or even comprehend the complexity of a greater mind. I didn't and still don't expect you to understand the sheer magnificence that was my plan," he then regained his neutral posture "You were supposed to grow up as a hero of light; my champion. Someone who would throw their life in danger if it meant saving someone or doing something for the greater good. A martyr. I needed you meek and malleable who would follow what I would say no matter what."

"A pawn," Harry breathed, shocked.

"A weapon," Dumbledore merely smiled "You were coming along quite nicely until this year. Something happened and you changed. Drastically. And whatever it was also removed any trace of evil in your scar which was actually the key reason why I needed you. But now with it gone I no longer need you in my plans and can move on..."

"So now that my scar has lost its usefulness you're just discarding me as a broken tool? If I was to be your weapon have you ever even considered tutoring me in magic so I could stand against Voldemort when he comes back? I always wondered why I didn't get any help from you when I was exposed to danger every year since I came to Hogwarts."

The Headmaster gave a very uncharacteristic snort before replying "Tutor you in magic? My boy-"

"Duke Emrys," Harry angrily hissed.

"- I didn't need you to be good or powerful, merely adequate enough not to die too early."

"Not to die too early? Your plan involved me dying? I wonder how many more have been in the same situation as me and how many times have it turned out ugly."

"You have to make sacrifices for something to work, but not many are willing. So I took that burden on myself. I only did what was for the greater good of the wizarding world."

There was a moment of silence where Harry and Dumbledore stared at each other. Harry was completely shocked at what he learnt today and it's definitely not how he expected the day to end.

"Why are you telling me all this now?" Harry asked "Aren't you afraid I will take all this information to someone?"

Dumbledore smiled, again, and it was already getting on Harry's nerves "What happens in Headmaster's office stays in Headmaster's office." Dumbledore waved his hand a various runes flashed into existence around the office, engraved in walls, bookshelves, and floor. Harry looked around, his eyes wide, trying to see what were those runes but he could hardly recognise them despite being almost a genius in the subject. The runes pulsed once before fading from view. Harry looked back at Dumbledore only to find him still smiling as he linked his arms in front of him "And there are not many things I'm afraid of, my boy. And even if you could share with someone of what happened here today, no one would believe you. Furthermore, I am a Light Lord. All I do is for the sake of the light and wizarding world. There is not much you could or can do."

There was another tense silence before Dumbledore spoke, all lightness gone from his voice "As I said earlier, leave Wizengamot and the Ministry to me."

"Is that a threat?" Harry asked.

"Just a suggestion that you should follow," Dumbledore replied "I am more than qualified to have the fate of the Wizarding World on my shoulders. I pulled it through the dark times before and I shall do so again."

"Qualified?" Harry laughed "Maybe qualified for child abusing and manipulation, but certainly not to be responsible for the fate of the Wizarding World. All you do is restrict the dark and in a way you are restricting the light. I bet you never have actually tried helping the dark! You're not even trying to help people of the light as there are many who still suffer!"

"I am-"

"A Lord of Light," Harry shouted as he leaned even further over the table "And as a Light Lord it's your job to uphold the balance of the light side. Too much light is blinding. You are not a bloody warlord!"

"You have a lot of nerve questioning me, my boy," Dumbledore calmly said as he unlinked his arms "You don't even know the beginning of what I do and what is my job. All I do is for the sake of the Wizarding World's well-being. I will conquer the dark and keep the balance by having light as the only choice, the only side there is. I will lead witches and wizards into a new age of Radiance."

"If that was the case, if that was what the world needed then I wouldn't be here!"

"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked.

Fawkes whipped his head around and looked at Dumbledore and furiously screeched " _Don't! Oh you motherfucker!_ "

Suddenly a magical shockwave burst out from Dumbledore lifting Harry in the air and pushing him, and all nearby objects, slightly away. Fawkes flashed out before the shockwave reached him. Harry managed to regain his footing as he was lifted off the floor just barely. He then looked up at Dumbledore and was shocked at what he saw.

Dumbledore stood where he stood before, his robe, hair, and beard fluttering as invisible magic energy swirled around him. His whole eyes were glowing golden, releasing a trail of golden smoke from the sides of the eye. A golden halo of pure magic formed around Dumbledore's head making his whole body to radiate a faint glow. Even the light itself was bending around the Headmaster making barely visible distortions that appeared and disappeared.

The power that Dumbledore radiated was enormous. His magical reserves easily dwarfed Harry's. It was like being exposed to a great storm in the ocean with only a small boat to keep you above the water.

And Harry knew in that moment what true fear was.

Then Dumbledore spoke and his voice was so laced with magic it carried a booming echo with it "I am Lord of Light and you are in no position to question or judge me. It is my decision alone on how to protect the light and the world. Your actions and words imply that you are against the light," small pause "For you I only have one word."

Harry didn't even realise Dumbledore had a wand in his hand until it was already pointing at him. Small part of Harry's mind was screaming "MINE!", but he was too terrified to pay any attention to what was he thinking. The only thing he knew for sure is that he was standing in front of a magical titan and he is about to die.

" **Lux**." Dumbledore calmly intoned, releasing a thick, smoky beam of golden light from his wand.

The effect was instant - one moment he was in the middle of the office, next he was lifted off the ground and pushed against the opposite wall. The waves of light kept coming and crashing against him and it felt like he was exposed to an immense heat. He imagined that's how the hottest of deserts felt like. Harry still had his staff in hand but there wasn't much he could do.

Then the temperature of the spell unexpectedly changed and Harry felt like he was drowned in a cold ocean. And then it changed again. And again. And again. If felt like eternity, Harry felt exhausted beyond belief and was gasping for air. Dumbledore was still channelling his spell and it made Harry's whole body to start shaking. He felt bloated, immense heat raising from inside him as if ready to burst out. Small golden tendrils separated from the spell and started to enter Harry through his pores and Harry couldn't help but moan in discomfort. He is about to die, he though.

Young Emrys recalled his new friends. Each one of them. Of his new determination he obtained at the beginning of the year. Of his better grades. Of his ancestry. Of his power and ever growing knowledge. His allies. The Heart of Hogwarts that he got attached to. Of his new status. Of Magik's Chosen. Of his wishes to better the world. To better the world. To help magic to prosper. Yes, Harry mused in haze. That was his purpose, his goal, he knew it. To help magic.

He felt drunk. He never has been drunk but he imagined that's how it felt like. Everything was blurry. The spell cast at him was now only a huge, yellow smudge. But what was he thinking? Ah, yes. To help magic.

To help magic.

To help the light. To help the dark.

To punish the wicked. Restore the balance.

That's his duties, right? His goals, right? He didn't know for sure. But he knew.

He knew. He knew.

He was Magik's chosen. The Magik's chosen.

He was no threat to the light. He was it's saviour. As he was the dark's. There can't be light without the dark. No dark without the light.

He was Magik's chosen.

The Chosen One.

The yellow of the spell was now getting white. Harry felt like he was getting blind. But if that's the price he had to pay to help.

To heal. To save.

Then he would. Someone has to make the sacrifices, right? Isn't that what Dumbledore said? But the sacrifices needed to be the right ones. He will sacrifice a part of him to help the magic. Because he was the Magik's Chosen and that was his path.

Because magic is a life worth cherishing no matter the manifestations it had.

A moment of deathly silence and stillness.

Then vision returned to Harry and he gasped, feeling like he was just hit with a sledgehammer. Harry noticed that he couldn't move a muscle. He also observed that he was still pinned to a wall by a beam of golden light that originated from Dumbledore's wand. The man itself was standing there, looking at Harry with blank face. There was dust in the air. Pages and quills frozen in the air that got picked up from the spell's force.

Wait, what? Harry took a double take. The spell that Dumbledore was casting seemed... frozen. It did not travel, didn't wave or move in any way. The pages and quills too were just there in the air, unmoving, as if someone picked them up and hanged them there. Dumbledore didn't even seem to breath. His hair and beard frozen in time too in their fluttering state. The Headmaster's robes too were frozen with wrinkles and folds as they were pushed back. Even his burning eyes and glowing halo seemed like a part of a statue. Harry even noticed that dust generated from the spell and picked up from the old bookshelves were frozen. It created a rather surreal, if not beautiful, scene.

Harry concluded that he too was frozen in time, if that's what it was. He tried to move a muscle to no avail. He even tried to focus on breathing and even though he felt that he was breathing, his chest seemed to tell a completely different story seeing, or rather feeling, that it is not moving at all. Somehow his mind was experiencing the stopping of time, if that's what it was. Or his brain started to work in such overdrive that everything else has slowed down to a stop. Or he was going crazy. Is this how the afterlife is like?

Everything was calm. Serene even.

To Harry, it felt like hours have passed in this state and he wished it would never end. He relished every moment.

But then he felt it. It was sudden and unexpected; It changed the feeling of serenity into that of abstraction.

It was a feeling first, like intuition. Harry felt like his brain is telling that a storm is coming, in a literal sense. That feeling as if he was standing on a beach and looking at colossal wave approaching him that made him gasp for breath.

And then the noise came. It was distant and originated somewhere outside the castle. Harry couldn't place what it sounded like. To him it was a cry. A distant cry of something. Like a distant cry of a whale mixed with an echo and laced with magic. Harry felt at ease once again, that noise was so familiar. So frustratingly familiar. He knew it, he had heard it somewhere but he couldn't remember where.

The noise got a bit louder. Still distant but there was a definite wail to it. It was crying, sad. And somehow Harry understood it.

"...yes," he breathed. His mouth didn't move. No voice escaped his lips, no breath. Yet his intent, his response resonated all across. It echoed as a whisper.

Another wail, this time sounding doubtful. Scared. Alone.

"I know. I will."

Hopeful. Still unsure. Crying.

"I know how it is. Please, don't cry," something was swelling inside Harry's chest. He felt compassion to the level that he has never felt before.

Another wail in the distance, that echoed over the hills and fields. It was still doubtful. But not crying.

"I promise. I swear," Harry said "I won't let you suffer."

Happiness. Joy. Hope. And then anger. Lots of anger.

Harry felt his muscles come to life a bit. Time slowly started to resume it's normal course but it was still crawling.

"Yes, I know."

Compassion. And then more anger. This time it was righteous anger, fury even, and it was booming as if someone had blown a war-horn.

"We will," Harry said, and then he shouted the next part "Because I am the Magik's Chosen!"

As he shouted it his eyes flashed blue and a massive sphere of blue magic, streaked with purple and green tendrils, exploded from Harry like a shield and effectively blocked Dumbledore's spell which harmlessly enveloped the sphere as if trying to find a hole before quickly dissipating in the air.

Harry landed on his feet but fell to his knees, his breathing shallow and rapid. He then defiantly looked up into Dumbledore's glowing golden eyes with his own glowing blue eyes and said "And I have all the right to question you."

Harry noticed straight away that while he still felt Dumbledore's titanic magic power, he was no longer consumed by fear. Now he only felt righteous anger. The same anger he 'heard' before.

Dumbledore was calmly standing where he stood before, his posture neutral, his wand by his side. He impassively regarded Harry.

Young Emrys then slammed his staff on the ground with the blunt end and slightly leaned on it to catch his breath while still kneeling.

He then suddenly springed on his feet and slashed his staff diagonally at Dumbledore, releasing a wave of pure, visible, bluish magic. Dumbledore didn't even lift a hand. The magic slash harmlessly passed around Dumbledore, making his hair flutter, before colliding with a wall behind the old man and destroying a chunk of the wall.

Dumbledore then brought his hands to his nose and sniffed before letting the hand drop "It is as I suspected," he calmly said in his booming voice "We do not need to be enemies. Contrary to what I believed you are not a threat to the light."

"And how can you be so sure?" Harry shouted, his eyes blazing. His anger seemed to be dissipating "For all you know I might be plotting with Voldemort!"

"If that was the case, my boy, you wouldn't be standing here. You would, in fact, be a pile of dust."

"What?" Harry asked shocked.

"The spell I used on you was specially designed and created by me. It is very complicated and intricate spell whose purpose is to target the beliefs, purpose and intentions of the wizard or witch. The bigger threat they are to the light, the more adverse are the results."

The righteous anger came back with full force and Harry's eyes blazed released same smokiness that Dumbledore's did.

"You what?" Harry shouted, unconsciously releasing a pulse of magic from himself that pushed all nearby objects away from himself "It could have killed me!"

Dumbledore nodded "It would've been unfortunate but necessary for the greater good."

What happened next happened too quickly, within seconds. Harry screamed in rage and with a wave his free hand drew, or rather conjured, a simple, small red circle in mid-air with runes for fire, burn, intent, target, intent, shape. Intent and target were inside another smaller circle and both linked together with a linking line. So was the intent and shape. Both smaller circles were then connected with the fire and burn which were drawn within a larger circle.

Harry then sweeped his staff across the rune and red tendrils infused the black onyx, turning the focus into a dark red orb. Without stopping or readjusting his staff he put his palm on the orb, gathered as much magic as he could safely afford, intoned " **Ignis**!" and spread his arms wide releasing a massive, scorching white and red fire wave that burnt everything on it's path leaving scorch marks on the floor as it rolled forward. It easily towered above Dumbledore and the heat was abysmal.

Dumbledore was impressed at the spellwork. Using runes was ingenious and amplified the spell's power. The Lord of Light waved his wand in a circular motion, taking control of the approaching wall of fire, and melded it into a massive ball and held it at bay. He was shocked to realise how much control it took him to do so even in the amplified state he was in. And he also felt the fire was desperately trying to break free of the control as if it has a mind of it's own.

Realising that he can't dissipate the fire as the power was too much to simply vanish, and that he won't be able to hold it back much longer, Dumbledore came to a conclusion that he needs to release the power in the most safest way else the ball will combust there on the spot and destroy the whole office, taking Harry and himself with it. The space was too little for the magnitude of such offensive spells.

Dumbledore whipped his wand to the right effortlessly throwing the ball of destruction which then collided with the window. The fire ball exploded with a massive boom that shook half of the castle. Dumbledore was still pointing his wand at the explosion and pushing as much pure magic as he could and spreading it all over the fireball forcing the fire as well as the force of the explosion to go out, rather than back in. Yet the damage was done and third of the office was destroyed.

"That was impressive spellwork. Powerful and rather ingenious," Dumbledore calmly said as he faced panting Harry.

"I can do it again if you want," Harry spat, a bit miffed that Dumbledore didn't even look tired or out of breath. His own anger diminished as he put a lot of it into the spell.

The Lord of Light shook his head "That won't be necessary." The old man's eyes stopped glowing and returned back to normal, icy blue colour. The halo around his head also dissipated, and the light distortions vanished. "You don't want to be my enemy, my boy."

"Neither do I want to be your ally," Harry stated, his eyes still glowing.

"You should reconsider," Dumbledore said as he walked around the ruins of his office, a chilly breeze coming from a massive hole in the wall and crawling under his skin. But he did not shiver. He then looked Harry in the eye but did not dare to try to enter his mind, especially not while Harry was in that state "We could be great, you and I. Heroes to the wizarding world. Beacons of hope."

Harry couldn't help but hysterically laugh "Funny. Voldemort said exactly the same thing to me in my first year." Without saying anything else Harry whirled around and left the office before the Headmaster managed to spike his anger again. There were too many revelations today, too much stress and he desperately needed some rest.

Yet headmaster still managed to have the last word just as Harry left "Welcome to the game, Duke Emrys." It made his blood boil again and he quickened his step.

Halfway down the stairs he suddenly clutched his chest and fell on his knees, his mouth open in a silent moan of pain, staff clittering next to him. He finally noticed the pain. Blunt, massive pain in his chest that was spreading to his whole body. It appeared there after he broke free from Dumbledore's spell, but then the anger dulled the pain. Harry didn't know what was happening. Did Dumbledore's spell work?

He barely managed to get his staff and stand up. After few deep breath he was confident enough he could walk so he began to slowly descend the Gargoyle staircase, flinching with every step.

After some painful minutes Harry finally reached the bottom of the stairs only to run into someone. He cried out in pain and almost collapsed if not for strong arms catching him in time and supporting his weight.

"Are you alright, dear?" asked all too familiar voice and Harry couldn't help but groan. Great, now he will need to deal with this barmy bat.

"I am fine, Professor. Just really tired and feel slightly ill. But otherwise I am fine," Harry replied and tried to let go of Professor Trelawney and stand on his own two feet. He managed, even if he was swaying. "I just need a good night's rest."

The Divination Professor nodded "Ok."

Harry couldn't help but stare at the Professor in shock. Was she really letting him go?

Trelawney stared back. Both of them silent. To say Harry felt awkward would be an understatement. Young Emrys winced in pain as another wave of pain washed over him and he started to leave.

"Tsk tsk, Dumbledore sure is a fool. You are not ready for this. Though I wonder if I can use you as Christams lights now? Hm, probably not. You will need more eyes before you're suited for that," Trelawney said confusing the hell out of Harry. She made a popping sound with her mouth and poked Harry on the forehead. At once Harry's eyes stopped glowing and returned to their normal state with emerald colour. Some pain also went away but it was still there, gnawing from the inside.

"What did you do, Professor?" Harry asked.

"I just turned you off," Trelawney replied. She then snorted and started to laugh as if she got the joke she herself had made. When she calmed down, the seer said "Now follow me." and then promptly turned around and stormed off.

Harry sighted. Of course he wouldn't be let off so easily. He quickly caught up with the Professor despite his pain and asked "Where are we going?"

Trelawney looked at Harry as if he was the dumbest person she knows "To my classroom, of course. Where else?"

"Of course," Harry replied "But why? I am tired and just want to have some sleep."

"You'll have enough sleep when you're dead." that was a bit grim but said with a firm voice "We are going to reverse what Dumbledore did to you. What he awakened."

"You know what he did?" Harry asked surprised.

"Not really. Do you?" came the nonchalant reply.

Great, Harry mused. He felt a massive headache incoming.

"He awakened, or rather forced, the abilities and magic of a Lord within you, and the special conductive form that Lords can assume. Hence why the Christmas Eyes," she let out a full blown laugh before resuming what she was saying, her voice manic "But since you're not a Lord, the new magic inside you is alien - it can't find a harmony with your own magic, or any similarities for a starting ground for merging. Lord's magic is a result of magical growth and a process of evolution that only the chosen ones can undertake. The Lords magic inside of you recognises your magic as a sibling of sorts but since there can only be one it tries to flush your magic out so that only it remains. Even though technically it also is your own magic. I still wonder how Dumbledore managed to accomplish this and whether it was deliberate or an accident," she finished and muttered under her breath "A complicated weaving and manipulation of magic stream and the time has to be involved. I wonder if we can accomplish the same and secure ourselves a lifetime supply of, what is it called nowadays? Sherry? Yes, sherry..."

"What?" Harry asked.

Trelawney shook her head and looked at Harry and deadpanned "What?"

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. Just keep cool, he kept repeating himself but it was difficult with such pain accompanying him "How do you what's happening inside of me, Professor? I didn't even share anything."

She bellowed "The inner eye sees and knows everything."

"So you know what happened in..." Harry couldn't get the words out "In... Inside... With..." he let out a frustrated growl as he remembering about the secrecy runes.

"In the office?" Trelawney elaborated. Harry wanted to nod but couldn't even do that. She shrugged "Not a clue."

Harry really wanted to facepalm. But he suddenly collapsed from the sudden burst of pain and was frantically breathing.

"Duke Emrys!" Trelawney exclaimed.

Harry lifted his head only to receive a huge quantity of some sort of black powder in his face that made him cough. As some of it managed to get into his mouth he realised it had chicken taste. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't really know!" Trelawney frantically exclaimed. "I just found it in my pocket! Are you alright?"

Harry incredulously looked at the Professor not sure whether to laugh or be angry. Surprisingly whatever the crazy witch did, it helped – the pain dimmed for the moment and turned into uncomfortable itch all over his body "Yes. Lets go."

"Don't dare to call me crazy! You're the crazy one with magic that doesn't yet exist!" she shouted, her eyes wide, and stormed off.

Harry barely managed to catch up but they finally reached the classroom and the young Emrys felt so exhausted and in pain that he felt like just passing out. "So what are you going to do?"

"Some of this, some of that... Sit down, My Lord."

Harry wasn't reassured but complied and sat down in one of the chairs near the window and put his staff against the wall while Professor disappeared behind the doors that probably lead to her own private office. The room was eerily lit with candles which was unsettling Harry. He prided himself in his control of emotions, ignoring the fact that he lost it during confrontation with Dumbledore. Yet Sybill always managed to creep him out.

After some painful minutes Harry heard a loud "Aha!" and saw the crazy Professor return with a glowing sphere in her hands. She looked too joyful with a skip to her step, her eyes fixated on the sphere.

"A crystal ball, Professor?" Harry sceptically asked.

And suddenly Trelawney was in his face again. Only the crystal ball separated his and her's face. Harry could see Trelawney's huge eyes through the ball that was further enlarged by the Professor's thick glasses and again, he saw the stars and small galaxies in those pupils and unwillingly got mesmerized.

She spoke in a misty tone, her voice a whisper and full of reverence. Gentle and soft that you could easily mistake it for a breeze "The crystal balls are not some simple trinkets made by mundane wizards, no. They are great tools in the hands of a seer. They hold the secrets of the universe. Images of faraway lands. Flashes of different times, memories of people that never existed. Just like the seers, magic cannot comprehend the crystal balls and thus does not recognise it. They exist beyond the time line. Laws do not apply to them. One only needs to know how to use them to accomplish great deeds." there was a moment of silence where Harry wasn't sure whether to believe what was said or not. It's something that he will need to research.

Then Trelawney was back in the middle of the room and looked at Harry with blank stare. Harry didn't even notice her move. Was she apparating?

"We are going to extract the Lord's magic and keep it within this crystal ball. Perhaps even shatter it," she said in a serious, deep voice.

"Have you ever done this before?" Harry cautiously asked.

The Professor then giggled breaking her serious persona "Done it before? My Lord, what kind of Lord would ever allow to do it? Your situation is unique."

Harry couldn't believe it. "So you've never done it before?"

"Nope. But I have a general idea," she said popping the 'p'. "And that's the reason why you shouldn't worry."

This was just priceless, Harry summed up.

"With an idea and some luck, anything can be done," Trelawney finished.

"I don't think I've been so lucky in my life."

Trelawney then rolled her eyes and drawled "Oh please. All Harry's are as lucky as three sevens. It's almost constant. You shouldn't be different."

"What if I refuse?"

The Professor shrugged "You probably don't feel it right now but the Lord's magic would probably take over your normal magic and since your body and mind has not been prepared and grown to accommodate such magic, the magic would then turn you into a suitable vessel destroying your physical body in the process. You would look something like a glowing, floating, blue apparition with no human will, only the driving force of magic," She said and after a brief pause added "I think. Or you could just combust into blood and gore. Or ashes. I don't know."

Blue apparition. Same as 'Lily' was? He looked down where the tattoo of Lily used to be and to his shock he saw that there is a faint outline of the tattoo again. Curious, Harry decided to think on it later as Trelawney's last phrase registered. "You think? You don't know for use?"

"Nope," she cheerfully replied before angrily hissing "No one knows the future, that's why it's the future. Anything can happen!"

Still not used to Professor's random mood swings, he cautiously asked "Isn't the inner eye supposed to see and know everything? Can't you use it to see?"

Trelawney hummed as she shook her head "Yes, the inner eyed sees everything. No. No on can command the inner eye, it just is. Besides, we have a strict business arrangement."

"Business arrangement?" Harry asked bewildered through his growing pain. Seeing Trelawney just nod, Harry let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, just get on with it then. I have no wish to become a mindless force of magic or to die."

Before Harry managed to even blink, Trelawney was already next to him with her arm with the orb fully extended and a serene look on her face. Realising too late as to what is about to happen, Trelawney swung her arm with all the strength she had and smashed the crystal ball against Harry's chest.

Harry cried out in immense pain and fell back from his chair as the ball shattered and some pieces embedded themselves in his skin making him bleed. He laid on the floor barely managing to restrain the tears of combined pain from magic inside him and the blow. But he was strong. And also confirmed that Trelawney has completely lost it.

He chanced a look at the Professor, and even though his vision was getting blurry he still managed to see a complete and utter confusion marring Trelawney's face. It's like she had no idea what just happened. Or what was supposed to happen.

Then her eyes glazed over and then quickly brightened as she let out a simple "Oh." Apparently she had a moment of enlightenment.

She quickly vanished in her office again and Harry chanced to sit up, a feat he managed with great struggle. He sat against the wall and chanced a look at his chest. It was heavily bleeding but what he found curious is that the crystal ball's shards started to melt into cerulean smoke. The smoke, however, didn't dissipate. It formed neat tendrils and threads that started to knit and heal Harry's flesh making him want to scratch his whole chest as it felt really itchy.

Then Trelawney returned with a new crystal ball. Harry now looked at her warily.

"You are not going to do that again, are you?" He asked.

"Of course I am!" Trelawney exclaimed, clearly offended. Harry was ready to run for his life. "This time, however, I will perform a spell on the ball. Apparently I forgot to do so the first time. I say I wasn't well informed the first time." Harry just closed his eyes and wished for the day to be over. He literally couldn't move.

He then heard Trelawney chant under her breath something. It was long winded, sounded complicated and Harry didn't recognise the language. He got goosebumps from the chanting as it sounded very... how to put it. Ancient.

Harry opened his eyes and saw that the mad seer's eyes have rolled back, and there was a misty smoke forming at the top of the ceiling which got thicker and thicker with each second Sybill was chanting. Then she began to wave her hand around the orb and all the smoke rushed into the crystal ball. It changed colour to light grey and was letting out a glowing pulse every other second. Within seconds the whole procedure stopped.

Sybill calmly approached Harry and asked him to lay down. Harry complied while still eyeing her with apprehension. He gave her benefit of doubt though as he clearly saw something magical happening moments before.

"It's not gonna hurt, I promise, My Lord," she said with a maniacal grin as she extended her arm again and swung it down. Harry's eyes widened.

This time however, the crystal ball dissipated into smoke halfway down and the only thing that slammed into Harry's still bleeding chest was Trelawney's palm full of light grey smoke.

The seer twisted her palm and all the smoke entered Harry and swiftly spread in his body. All his veins turned grey as he himself start to glow light blue and his eyes blazed into glowing flames once again.

Then with a battle screech, for it was a screech and not a shout, Trelawney started to raise her palm from the Harry's chest. To the seer it felt like peeling skin off the rock. Quite impossible if you look at it from normal view, but then again, normal laws didn't apply to her.

There was a layer of blue magic mass attached to her hand and Harry's whole body and that's exactly what she needed to get out of the boy's system and she be damned more than she already is if she fails.

She was halfway through when she felt resistance. The Lord magic was pulling back now and Harry moaning in pain, still conscious. Sybill's nose started to bleed.

"Oh no you parasite that's not so parasite if developed properly!" she murderously whispered and with her free hand summoned another crystal ball. Sybill's eyes heavily faded as she started to mutter a spell in an ancient tongue. She then crushed the crystal ball and it turned into blue magic tendrils. She guided the tendrils to her hand connected to Harry's magic, letting them envelop both of her arms. Sybill then proceeded to guide the remaining magic tendrils to the magic blanket that enveloped Harry. This allowed her to twist her main hand connected to the Lord's magic and grip it in a more tighter and secure way as if it was a rope. Then with her other arm she gripped the magic in the middle between the palm and Harry's chest and she pulled it like a rope.

Sybill thought with amusement that this whole process looked like dementor's soul sucking.

The extra grip allowed her to pull more easily and she almost had extracted it all but then the Lord's magic did a desperate move. Harry's eyes snapped even wider and the flames in them intensified. The young Emrys started to glow and radiate an ethereal feeling.

At first nothing happened but Sybill didn't lose her guard. She wasn't a seer for nothing! And then it came as she expected. But it wasn't _what_ expected. At first it felt like a wave was incoming, and next second she felt as if she was drowning in a storm. The power was unrealistic. She was gasping for breath. Her eyes rapidly changing from scared, to manic, to indifferent, to happy, to angry, to normal, to enlightened, to fanatic, to lovable, to scary. All these emotions all at once and she felt like all that she was and will be were choking her at once. She felt the time itself coil around her, prepared to strike the hammer of judgement that's been awaiting her.

Harry was screaming in pain, his arms raised and pointed at Sybill. The Lord's magic was gaining more and more ground back. It was winning!

But there was still fight left in Sybill. The small part of her, the true Sybill that was not affected by the time magic. She took control of the body and with all the strength she could muster she pulled and at the same time kicked the wall and screamed "Help out will you, you old hag!"

A fiery flash and Fawkes landed on one of the chairs. " _For the love of all that is holy, what the fuck is happening here?!_ " he exclaimed.

Sybill shot him a glare and hissed "How does it look like, you glorified chicken? Just another day in the life of the mortals," she pulled some more "Help me pull this thing out. It's too strong for me alone and if we don't do it soon, we will loose Duke Emrys!."

Realising it's Harry there, Fawkes got overtaken by a righteous anger. The same anger that Harry felt earlier " _That fucking old motherfucker did it after all? I swear on Merlin's balls I will transform into Ariana and parade naked in the old coot's bedchambers every Merlindamn night and accuse him over and over again!_ "

"Can you even do that, chicken?" Sybill exclaimed.

" _No, but I could find a way._ _But_ _there is no time to lose now._ "

Fawkes then closed it's eyes and concentrated. After a short while he spread his wings and burst into a massive crimson fire vortex that quickly separated into two fire beams and rushed towards Sybill. On the way the fire beams transformed into two huge hands that grabbed the Lord's Magic and together with Sybil they pulled and pulled all the while ignoring Harry's cries. After some very tense minute they finally managed to extract the magic that was thrashing madly in Sybil's hands.

"It's not normal," she calmly said as she regained back all that she was "The magic is twisted."

The two fire hands that was Fawkes merged together and in a flash there stood the Phoenix again. Fawkes looked very tired, his feather pale and rapidly falling out " _Of-fucking-course it's twisted! That type of magic is not supposed to appear like it did. Our esteemed Lord of Light probably used -that- spell, and forced Harry into a powerful inner expulsion of accidental magic due to the stress and shock -that- spell is capable of. And since Harry is so close with magic itself, Magik did the only thing that ensured his survival. Which means a fucking influx of accidental time magic inside Harry forcing him to awaken as Lord way before his time. It was a magical paradox inside Harry's magic. I will castrate the grey geezer! Destroy that abomination, you alcoholic!_ " And then he promptly burst into flames and all that was left was ashes.

Sybil rolled her eyes and muttered something about stupid chickens. Before she resumed her job. Now that the magic was outside Harry it wasn't much of a threat as long as she didn't let it go. She did observe though that the piece of magic she was holding, as surreal as it sounds, was getting black pigments all of it that rapidly expanded.

Sybil summoned four crystal balls and positioned them in a square on the floor. Her eyes faded out again as she chanted. With a harsh wave of her hand the balls shattered turning into purple smoke and started to swirl in a circle getting faster and faster until it formed a purplish vortex in the floor. Sybil kneeled next to the vortex and put her hand holding the Lord's Magic above it letting the vortex do the work and sucking the magic in.

After the last sliver of paradox magic was sucked in, Sybill muttered one phrase and the vortex collapsed on itself and with a soft pop and thud where was vortex now lay a purple crystal ball with black swirly mass inside of it. Sybil then used that crystal ball as a source of her next spell and after another set of chanting and waving her hands, the purple crystal ball shook a bit before sucking itself in and disappearing forever. Sybil grinned at the brilliance of such magic tools. Crystal balls, just like seers, existed outside the time-line and thus magic didn't quite sense them. To make a crystal ball to fade from existence is as simple as knowing the proper incantation, the magic weave pattern, and how to utilise the ball's unique magic that's held within them.

"Did you just speak to Fawkes?" Harry groggily asked.

"Does it look like I can speak bird?" Sybill drawled.

"I suppose not, I must've dreamed." Harry said and winced as he tried to sit up. His whole body felt sore "Did it work?"

"It appears that it did," Sybill laughed and stood up "Now go to sleep, Duke Emrys. It's been a rough day. I will take you to the infirmary. You still have many challenged ahead."

Harry just nodded, not even protesting about the infirmary, and drifted off to dreamless sleep.

Sybill had a maniacal flash in her eyes before she levitated the young Emrys with her wand and made her way towards the infirmary.

When she will get back she fully intended to down some dozen sherry bottles and take a bath.

* * *

Meanwhile Dumbledore was still in his destroyed office tried to salvage as much as he could completely unaware of the consequences of his actions.

It was a risky and rather brash, uncalculated move to reveal his true power to Harry. He actually came up with it on the spot - he needed a way to know for sure, to make the boy to show his true self and not that pureblood persona that he had made. He started by trying to provoke the young boy with facts fully knowing what to say that hurt the most. That was easy but did not yield results. So he had to step it up a notch. Thankfully the risk paid off and he learnt more than he gave away. Even with all the changes the boy was still easy to manipulate.

And Dumbledore really needed to know if the boy was a threat to the light as everything Harry had said and the way he behaved implied that he very much so was. He didn't want to kill the boy, oh no, but as he said earlier it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He let out a frustrated huff – if only other people knew how to make the right sacrifices and the right decisions then he wouldn't need to make them himself. But common public was too naive and stupid to think for themselves or to even have such responsibility on their fragile shoulders.

It's concerning that Harry is Magik's Chosen, but he supposed that at least one of his theories regarding Harry's sudden change have been confirmed. He'd rather if it was actually something else but since his spell didn't reduce Harry to dust he was quite sure the boy is going to be an asset rather than hindrance. He was indeed brilliant by creating such spells.

He learnt quite a bit today from the boy too. He will need to research further as to where could Harry get such information. And he also needed an emergency fund withdrawal from Gringotts.

He also mused that just because Harry was Magik's Chosen didn't automatically mean he will become Lord of Magic. He knew for a fact him or Tom could also acquire the title and all that goes with it.

But still, Harry proved to be unpredictable in the past so he needed some sort of contingency plan to at least have something up his sleeve to fight whatever it is Harry will come up with.

He smiled joyfully as he found a bag of his beloved lemon drops. He picked it up and put one in his mouth savouring the taste. He then nodded to himself. Yes, he officially welcomed Harry into the game and so another figure has appeared on the chessboard. He was curious and amused as to what a kid can do when other two players are seasoned war veterans. He chuckled, Harry was resourceful. He will think of something. And he was more than sure that Harry will mostly aim at Tom and in time they will be able to be allies. Maybe it's time to move on and regard the boy as potential war ally in the future and not regard him as a child. He had to admit that he stole all the childhood the boy could ever had but oh well. One must do what he must do.

He brandished his beloved Elder Wand and with one sweep intoned " _Reparo Maxima!_ " Everything that could be repaired, repaired and went back into it's original place. Anything that couldn't be repaired was repaired to what could be salvaged. In no time the office looked decent enough. Apart from the massive hole in the wall, of course, but he already saw Hogwarts working it's magic and knitting the hole shut.

He sat behind his desk, ignoring the evening's cold. "Now, to write some letter. And contingency plan," he mused for a second and after popping another lemon drop in his mouth his eyes brightened and merrily twinkled, and he picked up some parchments and a quill.

* * *

Somewhere very deep in an unknown location, in an unknown forest. In a cave hidden by dozens of wards, curses, traps and spells.

A pair of purple eyes snapped open and regarded their surroundings with suspicion and confusion.


End file.
